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CAS Offers Testing to Detect Phthalate Levels
Added: (Thu Feb 07 2008)
A recent article in the journal Pediatrics has raised further questions about the presence of phthalates in the environment. They note that certain phthalates, found in numerous baby care products, may lead to developmental and reproductive toxicity in infants.
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals that are used to make vinyl products flexible and soft. They also make products like nail polish harder to chip and make fragrances last longer. They are found in many industrial and common household items, including PVC plastics, cosmetics, personal care products (including most lotions, shampoos and powders), plastic toys, vinyl products and almost all products with fragrance. Phthalates are also used in medical devices, and numerous items our homes and cars. Essentially, phthalates are everywhere.
Phthalate testing is problematic due to their wide spread use and background levels can lead to false positive results. Therefore the laboratory must eliminate background sources of phthalates and ensure that quality control data supports that the analysis is free of these interferences. Although there are a number of analytical testing alternatives, the most common way for a laboratory to test for phthalates is using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer operated in selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). This SIM technique is being used by Columbia Analytical Services, in another study for a nationally recognized, non-profit, scientific research institute to measure phthalate levels in lotions. Columbia Analytical has performed analytical testing for phthalates for over 20 years and uses a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer operated in SIM mode to detect phthalates in aqueous and non-aqueous liquids.
For more information on testing for phthalates, contact Jeff Christian, Columbia Analytical Services, Inc. at 360-577-7222 or at www.caslab.com.