"Urban populations in Southern Californian are facing chronic exposure to toxic airborne “plasticizer” compounds — two of which have already been banned from children’s products, a new study has found.

Plasticizers are commonly used chemicals that serve the purpose of making materials more flexible, appearing in a wide range of products from food containers to shower curtains to gardening equipment to textiles, the authors noted.

Despite regulatory efforts to minimize public exposure to the plasticizers most notorious for causing cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm, the presence of some compounds has persisted, according to the study, published in Environmental Research.

“The levels of these compounds are through the roof,” said corresponding author David Volz, an environmental sciences professor at University of California, Riverside, in a statement."

Sharon Udasin reports for The Hill October 2, 2024. [2]