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   From: chem-fags@msnbc.com   
      
   Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys, making them   
   "more feminine", say US researchers.   
      
   Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less   
   likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and   
   tumble games, they found.   
      
   The University of Rochester team's latest work adds to concerns   
   about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC   
   shower curtains.   
      
   The findings are reported in the International Journal of   
   Andrology.   
      
   Plastic furniture   
   Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been   
   banned in toys in the EU for some years.   
      
   However, they are still widely used in many different household   
   items, including plastic furniture and packaging.   
      
   There are many different types and some mimic the female hormone   
   oestrogen.   
      
   The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys   
   are born with genital abnormalities.   
      
   Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing   
   brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone   
   testosterone.   
      
   Dr Shanna Swan and her team tested urine samples from mothers   
   over midway through pregnancy for traces of phthalates.   
      
   The women, who gave birth to 74 boys and 71 girls, were followed   
   up when their children were aged four to seven and asked about   
   the toys the youngsters played with and the games they enjoyed.   
      
   Girls' play   
   They found that two phthalates DEHP and DBP can affect play   
   behaviour.   
      
   Boys exposed to high levels of these in the womb were less   
   likely than other boys to play with cars, trains and guns or   
   engage in "rougher" games like playfighting.   
      
   Elizabeth Salter-Green, director of the chemicals campaign group   
   CHEM Trust, said the results were worrying.   
      
   "We now know that phthalates, to which we are all constantly   
   exposed, are extremely worrying from a health perspective,   
   leading to disruption of male reproduction health and, it   
   appears, male behaviour too.   
      
   "This feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true 'gender   
   benders'."   
      
   She acknowledged that the boys who have been studied were still   
   young, but she said reduced masculine play at this age might   
   lead to other feminised developments in later life.   
      
   But Tim Edgar, of the European Council for Plasticisers and   
   Intermediates, said: "We need to get some scientific experts to   
   look at this study in more detail before we can make a proper   
   judgement."   
      
   He said there were many different phthalates in use and the   
   study concerned two of the less commonly used types that were on   
   the EU candidate list as potentially hazardous and needing   
   authorisation for use.   
      
   DBP has been banned from use in cosmetics, such as nail varnish,   
   since 2005 in the EU.   
      
   The British Plastics Federation said: "Chemical safety is of   
   paramount importance to the plastics industry which has invested   
   heavily in researching the substances it uses.   
      
   "Moreover, the new European Chemical Regulation, REACH, will   
   ensure further rigorous evaluation and testing or chemical   
   substances and their uses."   
      
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8361863.stm   
      
       
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)