Health Care Without Harm: European Parliament and California Medical Association Express Concerns About Chemicals Used in Vinyl Medical Products

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Health Care Without Harm: European Parliament and California Medical

Association Express Concerns About Chemicals Used in Vinyl Medical Products

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TO MEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS:

Health Care Without Harm: European Parliament and California Medical

Association Express Concerns About Chemicals Used in Vinyl Medical Products

CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 22 -/E-Wire/-- As Americans learned for the first time about the presence of phthalates and other toxic chemicals in their bodies, Health Care Without Harm announced two important developments aimed at reducing exposure to phthalates in medical products.

"Representatives of the 15 member-states of the European Union and physicians in California are both recommending the same course of action -- that we protect public health by phasing out phthalates from medical products," said Charlotte Brody, RN, Health Care Without Harm co-coordinator.

Phthalates have many industrial applications. One common use is as a softening agent for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. The chemicals have been under scrutiny by regulatory agencies in the United States, Europe and Japan because of concerns about their potential reproductive and developmental effects. Phthalates were among the chemicals examined in a report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DEHP (di-ethylhexyl phthalate) is the chemical used to make PVC medical products, such as IV bags, soft and flexible. In December 2000, a panel convened by The Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction expressed "serious concern" about the risks of DEHP exposure to critically ill children.

On Tuesday, March 20, the Environment Committee of the European Parliament approved a document on the impacts of PVC. The document includes a recommendation that phthalates be phased out of medical devices.

Earlier this month, the California Medical Association (CMA) passed a resolution that strongly urges all hospitals to phase out their use of PVC products that contain DEHP in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and encourages the use of commercially available alternatives. As of 1999, approximately 170 California hospitals treated neonatal intensive care patients.

"The CMA resolution represents an important move to protect the health of children," said Robert M. Gould, M.D., President of SF Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility, a member of Health Care Without Harm. "An affirmative vote from CMA members illustrates that the California medical profession takes seriously the potential harm to neonates from PVC medical devices containing DEHP."

Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition with 300 member organizations in 27 countries, working to transform the health care industry so that it is no longer a source of environmental harm. To learn more about HCWH or to read the California Medical Association resolution, visit our web site at http://www.noharm.org /.

Health Care Without Harm

Charlotte Brody, RN, of Health Care Without Harm, [REDACTED-PHONE],

or Julie Silas, of SF Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility,

http://www.noharm.org

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