Sunday, March 23, 2014

wine-in-a-baggie-in-a-box-with-a-spigot

Stardate: March 23, 2013
20th day of Lent
In which my husband's family descends

This shall have to be brief.   I realized that my Lenten practice might have a real edge of the odd when my husband's family joined us for Spring Break, and my attempts to explain the plastics fast seemed to fall flat.  Grocery trips resulted in many plastic bags and no attempt to avoid purchasing plastic--granted, I had not made any requests otherwise, nor even realized this nascent desire in myself, and so unless one of them is secretly skilled in mind reading, there was no way they could have known.

At my last trip to the store, I agonized over whether to purchase the wine-in-a-baggie-in-a-box-with-a-spigot or four separate bottles of (bad) wine for a much higher price.  I got the bagged wine, ostensibly because I don't know what the plastic innards are made out of, and there is a chance that--containing greater than 8 oz, it will be labeled and recyclable.  In my previous experience, it SHOULD be recyclable, and I'd lay money on #2 myself.  But the plastics fast was to avoid the purchase of plastics, so ultimately I must admit this is a failure of will on my part.  But I LIKE Riesling.  I consoled myself...with Riesling.  Those who think this is inappropriate during Lent may be directed to someone else's alcohol fast.  I'm on vacation. 

But I also realized today, while trying to explain that plastics do not biodegrade despite their appearance of becoming smaller and brittle when exposed to sun (and this IS my understanding, but I could be entirely wrong), that 'soft' plastics become brittle over time because they are losing the pthalates additives that make them pliable.  This means that those pthalates are being lost at all times, including when they are in contact with foods and the environment and people.  Aha.  That makes sense.

According to the CDC, pthalates are:

 a group of chemicals used to make plastics more flexible and harder to break (told you so). They are often called plasticizers. Some phthalates are used as solvents (dissolving agents) for other materials. They are used in hundreds of products, such as vinyl flooring, adhesives, detergents, lubricating oils, automotive plastics, plastic clothes (raincoats), and personal-care products (soaps, shampoos, hair sprays, and nail polishes).
Phthalates are used widely in polyvinyl chloride plastics, which are used to make products such as plastic packaging film and sheets, garden hoses, inflatable toys, blood-storage containers, medical tubing, and some children's toys (Aha!   So that's what blood-bags are made with: PVC with plasticizers).

How People Are Exposed to Phthalates (um, why does the CDC need to bring this up?)

People are exposed to phthalates by eating and drinking foods that have been in contact with containers and products containing phthalates. To a lesser extent exposure can occur from breathing in air that contains phthalate vapors or dust contaminated with phthalate particles. Young children may have a greater risk of being exposed to phthalate particles in dust than adults because of their hand-to-mouth behaviors. Once phthalates enter a person's body, they are converted into breakdown products (metabolites) that pass out quickly in urine.(That doesn't seem too bad.  right?)

How Phthalates Affect People's Health

Human health effects from exposure to low levels of phthalates are unknown (wait, what?). Some types of phthalates have affected the reproductive system of laboratory animals (hang on.). More research is needed to assess the human health effects of exposure to phthalates.(So let me get this right.  We think it might affect human reproductive health, but we don't conclusively know?  Why not??)

Levels of Phthalate Metabolites in the U.S. Population (I'm concerned that you lead with this title.  It suggests there is a standing level of pthalate in the population).

In the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (Fourth Report), CDC scientists measured 13 phthalate metabolites in the urine of 2,636 or more participants aged six years and older who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 2003–2004. For several phthalate metabolites, results from the prior survey periods of 1999–2000 and 2001–2002 are also included in the Fourth Report. By measuring phthalate metabolites in urine, scientists can estimate the amount of phthalates that have entered people's bodies.(So we do know a little.)
  • CDC researchers found measurable levels of many phthalate metabolites in the general population. This finding indicates that phthalate exposure is widespread in the U.S. population. (great)
  • Research has found that adult women have higher levels of urinary metabolites than men for those phthalates that are used in soaps, body washes, shampoos, cosmetics, and similar personal care products. (Oh good!   Something women get more of than men: chemical exposure.)
Finding a detectable amount of phthalate metabolites in urine does not imply that the levels of one or more will cause an adverse health effect (wait, how do you figure that?). Biomonitoring studies on levels of phthalate metabolites provide physicians and public health officials with reference values so that they can determine whether people have been exposed to higher levels of these chemicals than are found in the general population (But you just said the general population's exposure is widespread and easily measurable). Biomonitoring data can also help scientists plan and conduct research on exposure and health effects.
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That's it?   Oh, come on CDC!  That's a tease!  You just said that pthalates 1) widely exist 2) are metabolized and released in pee 3) cause reproductive harm in rats and 4) well we can't know if it does any harm to people.  One of these isn't entirely true....it's the last one.
The CDC has a whole list of tox sheets for pthalates.  They deserve consideration, and here they are:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Environmental Protection Agency
Food and Drug Administration

BUT my internet isn't working well, so I can't check these out for you at this exact moment in time. I'll have to come back and eidt my comments in later.

What does Jesus think about all of this?
I don't think Jesus likes Riesling.  It's just a hunch I have, I think he prefers red wine, as do I.  He would also like for me to stop passive-aggressively hoping others will read my mind when going to the store or making personal decisions, and encourages me to be more upfront and clear about my expectations.  It's not like we aren't going to use those plastic shopping bags to scoop the cat litter--that is totally what we are going to do.

Hmmm.  Why aren't plastic shopping bags recyclable?  Those are one of the items specifically noted as 'unrecycable' by our waste management service.  Good question.

Sleep well!
Peacefully,
Marie

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