The Latest Phony Chemical Scare By C. Everett Koop

The Wall Street Journal
June 22, 1999

Add two more chemicals to the ever-growing list of phony health scares that have been peddled to the American public in recent years. Today a new report by a distinguished panel of 17 scientists and physicians, under my chairmanship, concluded that the chemicals DINP and DEHP, used to make toys and medical devices soft and flexible, are safe and pose no harm to adults or children.

DINP and DEHP, from a chemical family called phthalate esters, have been the targets of a highly inflammatory scare campaign. Families were unnecessarily frightened last fall into believing their baby's teething rings and vinyl toys were conduits of cancer-causing chemicals. Activist groups and a dubious ABC "20/20" news story sparked a consumer panic of Alar-like proportions. The nation's toy retailers, quickly consumed by the incendiary press coverage, yanked any DINP-containing products from their shelves. Many toy makers promised to stop using the chemical.

But based on our comprehensive review of every piece of scientific literature on the topic, conducted under the auspices of the American Council on Science and Health, we found that, in the words of the report, the use of DINP is "not harmful for children in the normal use of these toys."

The stakes are far greater regarding the use of DEHP in medical devices. Without DEHP, a wide range of life-saving medical devices -- such as blood bags, catheters (cardiac and urinary) and a variety of surgical instruments and gadgets -- would lack either the flexibility, transparency or shelf life to be of much use. But now a group of activists calling themselves Health Care Without Harm have declared war on DEHP and those plastic IV bags that are so effective at safely storing blood and other essential solutions. Through national advertisements and press conferences, they tout the imminent danger of DEHP leaching from IV bags and other products into the patient.

However, the expert panel could find no solid scientific support for such a claim. We even went so far as to review unpublished reports, and the studies most frequently cited by anti-DEHP activists. Our conclusion, as stated in the report is that "DEHP, as used in medical devices, is not harmful to humans even under chronic or higher-than-average conditions of exposure. DEHP confers considerable benefits to certain medical devices and procedures and its elimination without a suitable substitute could pose a significant health risk to some individuals."

Whether the medical community can withstand the same degree of attack that overwhelmed toy makers is still to be determined. But the burden of responsibility will weigh heavily on whatever group or individual advocates eliminating DEHP products without a safe, proven and tested alternative.

My concern -- as a pediatrician surgeon, as a former health official and as a father and grandfather -- goes far beyond this important but far too commonplace battle over the safety of chemicals. This ceaseless obsession with ousting the frequently nonexistent bogeymen from our chemical cornucopia does quite a lot to strengthen the ranks of consumer groups but very little to actually improve the health and quality of our lives. And while it provides television newsmagazines with a well-worn story line, it ultimately diverts our attention from real opportunities to enhance life and longevity. In short, what an incredible waste of time, resources and human potential!

I urge the nation's consumer watchdogs not to drop their vigilance but to raise their standards. There is serious work to be done. Smoking, excessive drinking, drug use, accidents in the home, unprotected sex, poor nutrition, lack of exercise -- these are the demons lead us along the road to sickness and death. The enemy is not tiny amounts of chemicals that have proved safe over many years.

This is also a wakeup call for those of us who have made medical care our life's work. The seeds of scientific deception have been planted in our own backyard. Will we weed them out, or allow them to overcome us through an orchestrated scare over the safety of plastic IV bags?

Dr. Koop , a former surgeon general, is a senior scholar at the C. Everett Koop Institute, Dartmouth College. The report is available at his Web site, www.drkoop.com.