Panel Undecided on Danger of Additives

Chemical additives found in a range of consumer products, from baby bottles to toys to intravenous drip bags, may well be dangerous to humans, a panel of experts said Thursday, but it said it needed more time to decide.

Members of a panel asked to determine the risks from the chemicals, known as phthalates, had been expected to issue a final report on their findings Thursday but ran out of time before reaching a consensus.

They said there was little disagreement over what the studies show--that the chemicals can disrupt reproductive functions such as fertility in laboratory animals--but that it is not clear whether the chemicals affect humans.

“Some of the phthalates we looked at, like DEHP and BBP, are reproductively toxic in rats and mice,” Robert Kavlock of the Environmental Protection Agency, who chaired the panel, told reporters. “When exposure happens earlier in life, the effects tend to be more severe.”

In June, a coalition called Health Care Without Harm--composed of 181 health, religious, labor and environmental groups--petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to warn patients about phthalates in IV bags.

The environmental group Greenpeace said phthalates could leach from soft vinyl toys into the mouths of children, and in December the Consumer Product Safety Commission asked toy makers to remove phthalates from baby rattles and teething toys.

But the chemical industry and groups such as the Health Industry Manufacturers Assn. say products using phthalates are safe. A panel chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop agreed.

The new panel will try to meet again this year.