Yep, you’re probably breathing in plastic chemicals, study finds

Chances are you’re inhaling the toxic chemicals used to make plastics more flexible, according to a new study by UC Riverside and Duke researchers.

Plasticizers are used in a variety of everyday products like lunch boxes, shower curtains, and garden hoses. The chemicals in this study — known as phthalates — have been linked to cancer, birth complications, and reproductive harm.

What researchers learned

Researchers tracked groups of UCR students to measure how much they were absorbing chemical compounds in the air. Each student wore a silicone wristband continuously for five days, with the band acting like a sponge. The levels of plasticizers “were through the roof,” said David Volz, a professor of environmental toxicology at UC Riverside.

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“It was so shocking because they were so high relative to everything else we measured in that wristband,” Volz said. Researchers had previously looked at flame retardants, and several plasticizers came out roughly 100 times higher.

The risks of exposure in pregnancy

They specifically found three chemical compounds that stood out: DiNP, DEHP, and DEHT. The former two are named on California’s Proposition 65 list, which lists chemicals that can increase the risk of cancer and birth defects. Health officials say exposure to DEHP during pregnancy can affect the development of a child, and that the compound can pass from the mother to the baby.

Volz said because these compounds are chemical additives to plastic products, “they have the potential to migrate” — meaning they can be leached into the air, dust or soil, as plastics degrade.

He said students were picking up plasticizers from both indoor and outdoor environments. While researchers believed most of the plasticizers were within an indoor environment, they didn’t address that specifically in the study.

“These compounds are so ubiquitous presumably in the environment because they're so ubiquitous in terms of the variety and diversity of products that they're used in,” he said.

What you can do

Volz said at an individual level, people can reduce plastic consumption to reduce potential exposure.

According to state guidelines, you also can look for a warning on product labels, signs at a business, notices at a rental housing complex, or publishing notices in a newspaper when Prop. 65 listed chemicals are present.