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« "We Need to Talk About Farm Policy" -- A Must Read. | Main | The bottle-versus-the-tap debate »

July 13, 2006

Like Mother, Like Baby

In a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers watched levels of plasticizing chemicals called phthalates ("THAH-lates") rise and fall in breast milk over a six-month period.

In other words, baby ingests chemical residues of the consumer products such as moisturizer, nail polish and plastics that Mom uses.

Some of this sharing of pollution is inevitable, because phthalates are used to make products all over the home. Breast milk is still the best baby food there is!

For now, nursing Moms can avoid using nail polishes that contain phthalates, but in the long run what we need is a better public health system. Did you know that most chemicals are not tested for health effects before being put on the market? We should revise our laws so that companies have to prove a chemical is safe enough for kids before putting them on store shelves.

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