What we are Finding Out about Plastics.

We all know that plastics are common in modern life, but science journalist Susan Freinkel says they are really literally everywhere — in our toothbrushes, hair dryers, cell phones, computers, door knobs, car parts — and of course in those ubiquitous plastic bags we get it seems every time we buy anything.

NPR | Fresh Air | We all know that plastics are common in modern life, but science journalist Susan Freinkel says they are really literally everywhere — in our toothbrushes, hair dryers, cell phones, computers, door knobs, car parts — and of course in those ubiquitous plastic bags we get it seems every time we buy anything.

Listen to the Interview:

The bags are made from polyethylene, the most common type of plastic in use today. By one estimate, Freinkel says, the amount of polyethylene produced in America every year is nearly equal to the combined mass of every man, woman and child in the country.

Freinkel's new book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story chronicles the rise of plastic in consumer culture, and its effects on the environment and our health. She notes that plastics have had enormously beneficial impacts — like making blood transfusions safe and common. But scientists are now also finding that phthalate chemicals from IV bags and other plastics are leaching into the fluids we take into our bodies, and the effects of that are just now being understood.

"These chemicals act in a more convoluted and complicated way," Freinkel says. "They interfere with our hormones, and they interfere with the endocrine system, which is the network of glands that orchestrate growth and development. And there's some research showing that DEHP, this chemical that's in vinyl [used in IV bags], has this property. It interferes with testosterone."

But the million dollar question yet to be solved, says Freinkel, is whether prolonged exposure to DEHP and other chemicals alters our bodily systems.

"It's difficult to say what the effects [of exposure] are," she says. "There are animal studies that show, at very high doses, it can be quite hazardous. It is literally toxic to the testicles and can create malformations and damage sperm and create fertility problems later in life. But most people aren't exposed to those kinds of levels — even in hospital settings where you are being transfused for a long time. It's not approaching those levels. It is more subtle, probably."

Problems In Rats

Only a few studies have directly looked at the effects of DEHP exposure in humans. Dr. Shanna Swan at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., has published several articles on prenatal exposure to phthalates. In one study, she found that newborn baby boys born to mothers with more phthalates in their bodies had a subtle difference in their genitals. That genital abnormality could indicate a disruption in testosterone levels, Freinkel says.

"In rats, that [physical] marker has been associated with a bunch of problems," Freinkel says. "But we don't actually know what it means in humans. ... What it suggests is that these chemicals that we've used for 50 years and assumed to be completely benign may have an impact on health of some people, particularly people who get exposed at critical phases of development."

What The Plastics Industry Says

The plastics industry, Freinkel says, has maintained that vinyl and phthalates are safe. Both the vinyl industry and the American Chemistry Council conduct their own research on the materials they use and have their own trade associations. Freinkel says they're quick to rebut any studies that come out suggesting a correlation between exposure to synthetic chemicals and possible health issues.

"[They say] they've been in use for 50 years, there's no evidence of widespread human problems, and therefore [they ask], 'What's the issue?' " she says. "And they are right — the science on this is still uncertain."

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