Household chemicals linked to kids' asthma

By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

The chemical compounds that keep our leftovers fresh and make our floors easy to clean may be a factor in the rising levels of asthma and allergies in children around the world over the past 30 years.

Five million U.S. children have asthma and 10%-20% of infants have eczema, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the cost of treating asthma in these children at $3.2 billion per year.

An extensive study of Swedish children found that house dust containing the softeners in plastic that give flexibility to food containers, vinyl floor tiles and cling wrap is associated with higher rates of asthma, eczema and other allergy symptoms.

The compounds, phthalates (THALL ates), are widely used in moisturizers, nail polish, insect repellants, shower curtains, hairsprays and building products such as polyvinyl chloride flooring.

Because they leach out of products, they are considered ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Global phthalate production is 3.8 million tons per year. "We've measured lots of things and there are no other factors that have shown this kind of raised risk," says Carl-Gustaf Bornehag of the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, lead study author.

The study was published in the October edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

While Bornehag says the research doesn't contain enough evidence "to make us recommend that parents throw out everything that's plastic in their home," he called for serious and rapid research to confirm the findings.

The American Chemistry Council notes that it's hard to tell whether phthalates are the cause of the children's asthma, or an effect.

"It is common practice to replace carpeting with smooth, easy-to-clean surfaces, such as vinyl, in the homes of children suffering from asthma, in order to reduce dust," the council's Marian Stanley says. "So the question is, do the children have asthma because of the vinyl on the floor, or is there vinyl on the floor because they have asthma?"