Phthalates have established a very strong safety profile over the 50 years in which they have been in general use. There is no reliable evidence that any phthalate has ever caused a health problem for a human from its intended use. Despite this long record of safe use, some issues have been raised about possible human health effects. These are based on results of studies that showed some adverse health effects in rodents, at much higher exposures than normally would be encountered by people.

Despite the strong body of evidence that indicates phthalates may be used safely in a wide variety of products and applications, some individuals and organizations have "cherry picked" the results showing impacts on test animals to create unwarranted concern about these products. The pages in this section discuss and address a number of issues.

For those who want to know more, links are provided to more detailed discussions, government reports, industry filings with regulatory agencies, and other Web sites. Phthalate producers have invested significant resources, both human and financial, to researching the potential health and environmental effects of phthalates. Research studies conducted by the phthalate producers are listed in another section of this site.

Last Updated: May 4, 2004