WHDH-TV (Boston NBC affiliate)
Cosmetic Caution
Reported by Dr. Deanna Lites
Air Date: June 24, 2005

You use them every day; shampoo, make-up, moisturizer, perfume or cologne, but with each use you could be spreading a dangerous chemical.

On Monday, Massachusetts legislators will hear from the public on the Safer Alternatives Bill asking companies to remove toxic chemicals from their products.

This comes on the heels of a new study that said many everyday products people use could be spreading a dangerous chemical.

Many skincare products contain DPH, a chemical known as a phthalate. It's what prevents nail polish from chipping--and it's what helps smooth on lotion.

"This is a really harmful chemical and we're starting to press the cosmetics companies to take it out," Susan Roll of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

That's because some medical experts have been warning of phthalates' harmful effects. They suspect it of causing certain cancers. It's also been linked to reproductive system damage in babies, but all of the scientific evidence came from tests on animals until now.

"It's going to change a lot of things in the phthalate argument," Professor of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health David Ozonoff said.

Dr. Ozonoff said a new human study has the medical community buzzing because it's findings reveal abnormalities that have long been feared.

"As long as it was just animals they could say that it didn't apply to human beings. But now they have actual human data," Dr. Ozonoff said.

The study looked at phthalate levels in expectant mothers and followed them throughout their pregnancies. It revealed that those mothers with high levels of phthalates had sons with genital abnormalities.

"On the location and the size of the sexual organs," Dr. Ozonoff said.

Environmental health advocate Cindy Luppi said phthalates are in other everyday products too like cleaning solutions and plastics.

"You can't go into a store and fully protect yourself from this chemical because it's everywhere and it's invisible," Cindy Luppi of the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow said.

Critics hope the results from this study will help force companies to provide safer alternatives.

"It's impossible to change the world one medicine cabinet at a time," Luppi said.

Some experts say you could be exposed to phthalates without ever knowing it. That's because our government doesn't require companies to list it as an ingredient.

"Things are protected by trades secret," Roll said.

Europe has already banned the chemical from cosmetics and some say the U.S is moving too slowly.

"I think the American people are under the impression that cosmetics are regulated, which they're not," Roll said.

The cosmetic toiletry and fragrance association said product safety is a top priority. In a statement they said "this latest study is based on questionable methodology...with not one finding that the use of phthalates in personal care products is anything but safe,"

Scientist Dr. Rebecca Goldin of George Mason University said this study doesn't prove phthalates are dangerous.

"I think if women want to protect their unborn fetus they should throw out their cigarettes before they throw out their make-up," Dr. Goldin said.

But that doesn't stop mother of two Kerri Lorigan from worrying.

"It sounds to me like they're in everything. And it's a little daunting, a little overwhelming," Lorigan said.