Baxter Med. Supply

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

I just came across Baxter Int'l 's (medical supplies, incl. DEHP
plasticizer slathered i.v. bags & tubes) '98 Env. report (actually quite
quantitative compared to the few others I've seen).  W/r/to their apparant
recent announcemet about phasing-out PVC and or DEHP products, at the time
of this report they were holding the door open.  It was published about May
'98--almost a year before their public phase-out announcement

They do equate "billions of patient-days of DEHP exposure w/out report of
significant adverse effects" with "safe use";  they strongly imply that
cause and (human) effect must be incontrevertedly linked (so much for the
Hippocratic oath and the medicals community's value of prevention!);  and
otherwise concentrate on reports that show safety of DEHP.  But they do
cover some positive results, e.g. they say DEHP has been shown to attach to
estrogen receptor, but they discount that because of the high dose used
(see my prev. post to dioxin-l only about low does of hormones possibly
more effectively activating estrogen signals than high).

Interesting that they list some criteria for bags & tubes, and specific
qualities (e.g. flexibility, durability, u.v. transperancy) aren't among
them.  Hopefully that implies the alternatives perform as well in such
critical spcifications.

All-in-all, these 2 pages imply it's safe, say that there are other
criteria, and left the door open to being showed there's a problem.  They
say they had already made some substitutions for DEHP-treaed components and
will continue to evaluate the issue.

Tony Tweedale

Causality is a concept not subject to empirical demonstration. -David Hume
(1711-'76)

Temperate but endangered planet.  Enjoys weather, northern lights,
continental drift.  Seeks caring relationship with intelligent life form.
      -Friends of the Earth