A Plastic Story That Really Hits Home; BDN: Tests of 25 Mainers find high levels of chemicals used in plastics

By Jackie Farwell, BDN Staff

AUGUSTA, Maine — The test results are in for 25 Mainers who recently volunteered to test their bodies for a battery of chemicals commonly found in consumer products.

Every participant, from current and former lawmakers to mothers and an electrician, tested positive for phthalates, a group of chemicals used to soften plastics that studies have linked to serious health problems, such as reproductive birth defects among boys and higher rates of asthma and allergies, according to the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, a coalition of environmental and health organizations that announced the findings Tuesday afternoon at a State House event. Levels in some participants far exceeded national averages.

Paige Holmes, 34, who lives in Lisbon with her two young sons, tries to avoid phthalates by using glass and stainless steel containers instead of plastic and switching out her vinyl shower curtain for a cloth one. Since becoming pregnant with her first boy seven years ago, she has taken steps — from buying organic and local foods to making her own household cleaners to reading product labels — to limit her family’s exposure to chemicals.

So she was astounded to discover she had the highest overall level of phthalates in the study group. Two types of phthalates commonly found in personal care products were detected in her body at levels higher than those of more than 90 percent of all Americans.

“I’ve done so much, I had thought, to protect my family, and then to see that I had the highest levels despite everything I had done to be proactive about this was just really shocking,” Holmes said.

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