PHTHALATES

Applications of phthalates

Phthalates are widely used in the plastics industry and their role is basically that of "plasticizing agents", as their integration with the polymer improves both the flexibility and the moldability of the finished product.
PVC is the main plastic material (in terms of production volume) in which phthalates are added; in particular, benzibutyl phthalate (present in expanded PVC) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (an ester between phthalic acid and 2-ethylhexanol mainly used in the constitution of normal PVC) represent the vast majority of the use of phthalates in the plasticization industry .
By adding phthalates to PVC, a lubricating effect is obtained between the molecules of the polymer itself, which are able to slide over each other, increasing both the softness and the malleability of the product even at low temperatures.
Phthalates obtained by esterification with light alcohols are instead used as solvents in perfumes or pesticides, while other phthalates are frequently used in the preparation of nail polishes, adhesives, varnishes and foods.

Toxicity of phthalates

Let's start by specifying that food contamination by phthalates is absolutely inevitable but, in spite of the alarmists, in humans it has not yet been proven that they cause sterility or, worse, cancer. These molecules are extremely easy to disperse, so much so that traces of phthalates are have been identified in the Himalayas or in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, places likely reached by rainwater condensed into clouds and contaminated elsewhere.
Phthalates, as well as bisphenol, represent a group of molecules whose industrial application has been extremely contested by hygiene control bodies; in fact, since the 1970s (the decade in which the results of many investigations were disclosed) the use of phthalates has been associated with numerous side effects and related complications.
The first side effect attributed to phthalates was the potential for "feminization" towards male infants; it seems that in guinea pigs the phthalates almost perfectly imitate the estrogenic action at a SYSTEMIC level causing a more or less significant (probably dose-dependent) disturbance in the development of the genitals and in the maturation of the testicles.
Not only that, these studies have documented many other undesirable effects attributable to the administration of phthalates; among these we remember:

Liver damage

Kidney damage

Lung damage

As one could easily guess, such results should lead to the abolition of the use of phthalates, were it not that other similar experiments conducted on primates did NOT show any complications affecting the testicles of male subjects nor did they confirm the carcinogenic potential. . Obviously, the outcome of these studies has again questioned the probable (or unlikely) toxicity of phthalates to humans.
Phthalates are poorly soluble molecules but above all biodegradable; their decomposition is rather rapid and although they represent an almost ubiquitous polluting component, not even the in-depth studies on the fauna of the areas most at risk have provided useful elements to justify the industrial abolition of the use of phthalates.
The latest studies come from Denmark, where a "team of specialists has confirmed the" harmlessness of phthalates at doses of 500mg / day (half a gram); if we consider that the human being introduces a dose of it on average over the course of a lifetime

Bibliography:

Tomonari et al, The Toxicologist, 2003