Shower Curtains and Your Health

I hope you remember my Science Café interview with Tracey Woodruff, PhD, in 2007. An expert on the effects of environmental toxins on reproductive health, Woodruff spent considerable time discussing different classes of dangerous chemicals. Among them were phthalates. I mention phthalates again because of a story in the Los Angeles Times, based on a report by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, that revealed the presence of phthalates in softeners added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic shower curtains. You know that distinctive “new shower curtain odor”? Guess what? We are smelling what is essentially a hazardous emission caused by a blend of phthalates and their nasty cousins, volatile organic compounds, the report found. Worse, this brew can linger and worsen in the humid conditions of a bathroom. No one is saying that a shower curtain alone is ruining human health. But it is no comfort that these chemicals have been linked to liver disease and damage to the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems. And let’s not overlook the fact that they can also harm a developing fetus. The good news is that manufacturers are already starting to phase out the use of PVC curtains. But given what we now know, buyer beware. Next up for Science Café: A husband-and-wife science team come to SFGH to continue their research into spinal cord injury and repair.