Jun 12, 2008 11:00 am US/Eastern
Your Shower Curtain Could Be Making You Sick
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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The Center for Health, Environment and Justice says that strong odor you smell when you open a new shower curtain is from dozens of potentially dangerous chemicals used to make the plastic.
WBZ
Some environmentalists and scientists say your shower curtain could be making you sick.
When you jump into the shower in the morning, who stops to think about the safety of their shower curtain?
A group of environmentalists thinks we all should. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice says that strong odor you smell when you open a new shower curtain is from dozens of potentially dangerous chemicals used to make the plastic.
The group tested several shower curtains and found lead, mercury and high levels of phthalates. (
Read the full report.)
"They affect particularly the developing reproductive system," said Ruthann Rudel, a scientist with the Silent Spring Institute, a research group dedicated to tracking environmental causes of cancer.
She says children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to these chemicals, and that worries Brookline mother of two, Judy Robinson. "It's a little overwhelming to feel like you have to be a scientist to go to the store to buy things for your family."
Robinson's frustrated the government doesn't test these chemicals before they end up in the products her family uses. "It just seems like every time you turn around, there's another story about chemicals that we thought were safe."
A recent public outcry prompted the makers of some baby bottles to remove another dangerous chemical,
Bisphenol-A, from its products, and the cosmetic industry is beginning to bow to consumer demand -- offering many products that are free of phthalates and other chemicals.
Robinson says waiting for the consumer to demand change is putting her children at risk. "We're really putting a pillow at the bottom of the stairs instead of a safety gate at the top."
According to the report, some retailers, like Ikea, are starting to phase out the vinyl curtains, while others are working to offer more alternatives like cotton and nylon.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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