Media Coverage
October 01, 2008 - Environmental Research - "Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat"
The plastic objects that populate the marine and aquatic environments, with the exception of fishing lures, are not made to look like natural food to marine creatures.More About This Media Coverage
August 23, 2008 - VillageSoup - Local fisherman looks to sink rubber baits
The problem is much more clear than the solution, but for local fish enthusiast Bill Gagnon of Warren and a host of other fish lovers, they hope not for long. Gagnon is hard at work helping the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to find a solution to stop the use of rubber worms in the fishing industry in the Pine Tree State. The problem is backing up not only the health of many fish in Maine, but also the fish themselves.More About This Media Coverage
August 14, 2008 - 10 Surprising Facts about Soft Plastic Fishing Lures, Health and Water Quality
"10 million pounds of phthalates are deposited into the environment annually due to soft plastic fishing lures. This is over 1.2 million gallons of phthalates – enough to fill 160 tanker trucks – every year."More About This Media Coverage
March 21, 2008 - PBS - Toxic Toys (video)
PBS video about phthalates in children's products.More About This Media Coverage
December 12, 2007 - Sears/K-Mart Become Latest Retail Giants to Phase Out Toxic PVC Plastic, Major Source of Lead, Phthalates, and Dioxin Exposure
"Sears' decision signals a major trend in the retail sector as Target and Wal-Mart have also developed policies to reduce or phase out PVC. The writing is on the wall for PVC - it's on its way out and safer alternatives are in."More About This Media Coverage
December 10, 2007 - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - Investors take aim at plastic products
Already under attack from a host of critics, companies that make and sell plastic products are being hammered by a new, unexpected adversary - their shareholders.More About This Media Coverage
November 21, 2007 - Mass & Toxic Tort Update - Phthalates Face Increased Scrutiny
With Governor Schwarzenegger’s signing of Assembly Bill 1108 in October, California became the first state to ban the use of certain phthalates in toys and child-care products for children under the age of three. The European Union and the city of San Francisco already passed similar bans of certain phthalates; however, California's law is broader than those previous bans. California's action on phthalates is but one of a number of recent measures to limit, if not ban, the use of phthalates.More About This Media Coverage
November 06, 2007 - Target To Systematically Reduce Use Of Toxic Pvc In Infant Products, Children’s Toys, Shower Curtains, Packaging
Target has agreed to systematically reduce its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, commonly known as vinyl. The company is reducing PVC found in many of its owned brand products including infant products, children’s toys, shower curtains, packaging and fashion accessories. PVC commonly contains toxic additives such as lead and phthalates and is often made in China.More About This Media Coverage
October 30, 2007 - USA Today - "'Everywhere chemicals' in plastics alarm parents"
"The strongest data come from fish and other aquatic animals exposed to agricultural chemical runoff. Bizarre physical changes, including male fish with immature eggs in their testicles, have been found in the Potomac River. Vicki Blazer, a pathologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, blames pollutants with estrogen-like properties."More About This Media Coverage
October 16, 2007 - California's Ban on Phthalates May Spread to Other States
Yesterday's legal action in California against Apple over its use of phthalates may be the opening shot in a nation-wide battle between consumer advocates, health agencies, state and federal entities, and manufacturers ...More About This Media Coverage
October 16, 2007 - San Francisco Chronicle - "A nationwide toxic toy ban likely to follow state lead"
One day after California became the first state in the nation to ban toys containing toxic plastic softeners, supporters of the measure announced plans Monday to help at least nine other states - and perhaps even Congress - enact similar laws.More About This Media Coverage
September 30, 2007 - Effects of plastic fishing lures on brook trout growth
Report of study conducted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries.More About This Media Coverage
September 26, 2007 - Pond Boss - What's wrong with this bass?
"Okay, all you ardent pondmeisters out there. Here's the scenario. I received a call from an anxious client last weekend. Seems he caught a skinny bass. ... "More About This Media Coverage
September 24, 2007 - Time Magazine - "How Fresh is Air Freshener?"
A study released last week by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) evaluated 14 air fresheners off the shelf of a local Walgreens and found that 12 contained variable amounts of substances called phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates), a group of chemicals that are used to dissolve and carry fragrances, soften plastics and also as sealants and adhesives. Phthalates are commonly found in a variety of products, including cosmetics, paints, nail polish and children's toys — and have long been at the center of a larger international controversy over their health effects.More About This Media Coverage
September 04, 2007 - Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal - Officials say mounting litter big problem for fish
Litter on the ground, underwater and even in fish bellies is fast becoming a big problem across the state. It's also a health hazard, may diminish angler catch rates associated with seasonal fisheries, and could spawn legislation.More About This Media Coverage
August 14, 2007 - USA Today - “Hospitals move to phase out chemical”
The plastic used in intravenous tubing, blood bags and other products — DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate — can leach a hormone-like chemical linked to reproductive problems, says Richard Grady, interim chief of pediatric urology at Seattle's Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center. While doctors agree that the benefits of specialized care for newborns outweigh the potential risks from plastic devices, leading medical organizations now say that hospitals should find safer substitutes whenever possible. Grady notes that even minute amounts of hormones could cause problems for infants whose organs are still developing, especially newborn boys who spends weeks in neonatal intensive care units, or NICUs.More About This Media Coverage
July 16, 2007 - Health Canada - "Proposal for legislative action on di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate under the Hazardous Products Act"
The purpose of this letter is to solicit your comments regarding a proposal to prohibit, under the Hazardous Products Act (HPA), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Under this legislation, use of DEHP as a substance or constituent of preparations would be prohibited at concentrations of greater than 0.1% by mass in the plasticized material of toys for children under three years of age and of products for children under three years of age that are likely to be mouthed.More About This Media Coverage
July 04, 2007 - Maine Morning Sentinel - "Maine studies effect of plastic, rubber lures on fish"
A marine biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife hopes that his study will help to determine the effects of plastic and rubber lures on fish that swallow them.More About This Media Coverage
July 02, 2007 - Kennebec Journal - Mystery of the Missing Lure
Russell Danner's eyes got wide as he sliced open the brook trout's stomach and gingerly removed the plastic worm from inside. Placing the worm on the counter beside the gutted fish, the state's Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pathologist was beginning to see glimmers of the answers to questions he has been asking for years.More About This Media Coverage
April 04, 2007 - Fiduciary Guide To Toxic Chemical Risk
In the wake of costly litigation, product sales bans, and reputational damage arising from asbestos, toxic materials in cosmetics and toys, and Teflon-related chemicals, U.S. investors are becoming increasingly wary of toxic chemical risks – in products, in supply chains, and in their own portfolios.More About This Media Coverage
December 05, 2006 - Worcester (Mass) Telegram & Gazette - Hooks, line sinking all wildlife
I cringe every time a smallmouth throws a senko off my line into the lake, knowing that something plastic, made from petroleum products, can’t be good for the water or the fish that live there.More About This Media Coverage
May 25, 2006 - Soft Plastic Lure Expands in Water
Time progression photos of soft plastic lure expanding in water.More About This Media Coverage
April 01, 2006 - The Alliance for a Health Tomorrow - "Unnecessary Harms"
PVC-containing DEHP makes up approximately 25% of all the plastics used in hospitals. This additive is present in significant quantities since DEHP constitutes about 20-40% of the weight of most PVC products.More About This Media Coverage
November 14, 2005 - Chemical & Engineering News - "Panel Ranks Risks of Common Phthalate"
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most widely used plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride products in the world. But the safety of DEHP has been under a cloud for a decade, and the latest analysis of health effects studies expresses some serious concerns about how the compound is used.More About This Media Coverage
September 07, 2005 - Environmental Health Perspectives - "Human breast milk contamination with phthalates"
Phthalates adversely affect the male reproductive system in animals. We wished to investigate whether phthalate monoester contamination of human breast milk had any influence on the postnatal surge of reproductive hormones in newborn boys as a sign of testicular dysgenesis.More About This Media Coverage
August 02, 2005 - USA Today - “Are our products our enemy?”
Like the glint of a knife in the dark, a laboratory accident in 1998 helped scientists realize that some chemicals commonly used to make life more convenient can be health hazards.More About This Media Coverage
August 01, 2005 - Environmental Health Perspectives - "Prenatal phthalate exposure and male anogenital distance"
Prenatal phthalate exposure impairs testicular function and shortens anogenital distance (AGD) in male rodents. We present data from the first study to examine AGD and other genital measurements. (Condensed version of 5/27/05 document.) in relation to prenatal phthalate exposure in humans.More About This Media Coverage
July 25, 2005 - Wall Street Journal - “Industrial chemicals in tiny doses raise health concerns”
For years, scientists have struggled to explain rising rates of some cancers and childhood brain disorders. Something about modern living has driven a steady rise of certain maladies, from breast and prostate cancer to autism and learning disabilities.More About This Media Coverage
May 27, 2005 - Environmental Health Perspectives - "Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure"
Prenatal phthalate exposure impairs testicular function and shortens anogenital distance (AGD) in male rodents. We present data from the first study to examine AGD and other genital measurements in relation to prenatal phthalate exposure in humans.More About This Media Coverage
May 26, 2005 - USA Today - “Common chemical may cause defects in baby boys”
For the first time, scientists have shown that pregnant mothers exposed to high but common levels of a widely used ingredient in cosmetics, fragrances, plastics and paints can have baby boys with smaller genitals and incomplete testicular descent.More About This Media Coverage
March 21, 2005 - The Backlash (Wheaton's Lodge) - "A Nasty Secret"
Bass fishing has a nasty little secret that no one wants to talk about. Soft plastic baits, non-biodegradable, are littering America's bass waters, lodging in the stomachs of many species, and killing fish. As a guide, I know this first hand.More About This Media Coverage
December 01, 2004 - Center for Health Environment and Justice - "PVC-The Poison Plastic"
PVC poses serious environmental health threats from the start.More About This Media Coverage
May 01, 2003 - Epidemiology - "Male Reproductive Effects of Phthalates: An Emerging Picture"
Like so many other byproducts of human enterprise, phthalates, without much attention paid to their possible health effects, have become widely distributed among people.More About This Media Coverage
December 21, 2001 - Facets of Freshwater - "Green Consumers"
People also think plastic six-pack rings are the leading cause of wildlife entanglements. Discarded fishing lure is a far greater threat.More About This Media Coverage