As reported in an article by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN) on November 7, 2013, 25 persons from Maine, U.S. will be biomonitored for phthalates in their system over the next two month. The initiative is coordinated by the local non-governmental organization Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, which is also asking the Maine legislature to consider a bill requiring large producers to disclose which of their products contain phthalates in January 2014. Phthalates are used as plasticizers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic consumer products including shower curtains, lotion and food contact materials. They are considered endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and have been linked to reduced fertility, reproductive toxicity and testicular toxicity. The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine did not disclose for which types of phthalates they will be testing and which body fluids will be assessed.
Read more
Patty Wight (November 7, 2013). “Are You Contaminated With Toxic Chemicals? Twenty-Five Mainers About to Find Out.” Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
