Effect of phthalate esters on reproduction in rats.

Numerous plastic devices and materials used for medical, dental, and food collection, processing, and packaging are made of poly(vinyl chloride) and plasticized mainly with di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) to impart the desired physical and chemical characteristics. Some finished products may contain more than 40% plasticizer, which may be leached from the material by blood (1) or milk (2) or various other solutions. DEHP has generally not been considered to be a health hazard because of its low acute oral toxicity (3-10) and because the amount of DEHP leached from plastics is quite small. However, there is evidence that DEHP is not readily hydrolyzed but accumulates in body tissues. When two patients