BPA
Bisphenol A (BPA) was a hot topic in 2008 and 2009, grabbing headlines as retailers removed plastic products from shelves and governments issued reports on BPA’s toxicity to children. With pending and current legislation on a State and National level, BPA promises to be in the headlines for years to come and will remain on the minds of all plastics manufacturers trying to sell their products in the U.S. Over the years, ChemRisk^® scientists have conducted hundreds of assessments of the hazards of many chemicals, including BPA, in consumer products. Scientists at our firm have researched methods for determining total BPA in baby bottles and other consumer products, helped design studies investigating the neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and endocrine effects at low doses of BPA, and assessed the exposure potential of similar chemicals such as phthalates in various consumer products.

Phthalates
Phthalates, including di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), are used as plasticisers and can be found in products ranging from children’s toys, to electrical equipment, to medical devices. With the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, these chemicals are assured a place in headlines and news reports for many years. ChemRisk^® scientists are world renowned experts in health risk assessments and have been assessing products with phthalates and other similar chemicals for years.

Some of our relevant experience in this area includes:

• assessing whether the presence of DEHP in California cheese resulted in doses that exceed the limits established by Proposition 65;
• evaluating whether BPA leachate from baby bottles poses a risk to bottle-fed infants; and
• determining if DEHP exposure from plastic covered metal shelving, cell phone headsets, cosmetics, and children’s toys would lead to doses that exceed Proposition 65 limits.