The study found that by the age of seven, children exposed to more of these chemicals had IQ’s that were more than six points lower than children exposed to lower levels of the chemicals.

Phthalates make plastics more flexible and harder to break. These plasticizers are also good at helping chemicals carry a particular scent.

The material is found in a wide variety of things people use every day, like the containers you use to store food or heat it up in the microwave. Phthalates are also in:

• air fresheners
• dryer sheets
• shampoos
• cosmetics

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates over 470 million pounds of phthalates are produced each year.

Phthalate exposure is widespread in the United States, according to research done in 2009 in the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Women had much higher rates of exposure. That’s because they used more products with phthalates undefined products like soaps, shampoos, cosmetics and body washes.

More at source: CBS

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