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Wednesday, November 29, 2000
Nail polish, birth defect in males linked
Chemical may affect developing sex organs
Scripps Howard News Service
A common ingredient in nail polish and other cosmetics may be responsible for the increase of birth defects in the sexual organs of boys, an environmental group warned Tuesday.
The Environmental Working Group released a report warning women of childbearing age to avoid products containing dibutyl phthalate, also known as DBP. The chemical is a "plasticizer" often used to give nail polish coating flexibility.
In use since the 1930s, the chemical has been used in a variety of consumer products, including shampoos and sunscreens. A survey included in the report found that dibutyl phthalate is in a third of all nail polishes, glosses, enamels and hardeners sampled.
For more than 20 years, studies have shown that elevated levels of the chemical can cause birth defects in the male sex organs of laboratory animals, as well as low sperm counts and testicular atrophy.
But there was no published research on human exposure to DBP until September, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that found some level of the chemical in all 289 men and women tested.
Levels of the chemical were especially high in women ages 20 to 45, which the center's study postulated was probably due to their use of cosmetics. The Environmental Protection Agency's current safety standard for dibutyl phthalate is based on rat studies done in 1953 that looked only at what level the chemical might cause death, not birth defects, Wiles said.
The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association released a statement asserting that "nail polishes and cosmetics are safe" or they wouldn't be allowed on the market by the Food and Drug Administration.
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