REVIEW OF PHTHALATES USED IN INDUSTRY, OCCURRENCE, HUMAN EXPOSURE ANDPOTENTIAL IMPACT ON HEALTH^1

Phthalates, a group of synthetic chemicals representing a broad chemical family, have been manufactured in millions of tons and are widely used in industrial and consumer products. phthalates migration out of these products has posed a serious contamination problem both for the eco-system and for humans using the products.toxicity data from recent studies on laboratory animals have revealed the extent of damage phthalates cancause to the animals bio-system. many of these studies, however, concluded that there is correlation of some of these effects in humans. it is this correlation that has raised serious health concerns in developedcountries.noting that a wide range of these very same consumer and industrial products are being marketed on alarge scale in the gcc and other me countries; this paper aims at enhancing equal health concerns inthese countries. it proposes to do so through:1.providing information on the occurrence of phthalates in industrial products.2.summarizing the current knowledge about human exposure.3.presenting the potential health impact of exposure to an actual mixture of these chemicals.