A panel from the independent National Research Council urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to study the risks of some chemicals found in many plastic products, to see if they are harmful to people.

According to the panel, evidence justifies an agency examination of the health effects of accumulated exposure to chemicals called phthalates, which make plastic products soft and flexible.

Phthalates have been used commercially for decades, and can be found in cosmetics, toys, food packaging, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cleaning and building materials. They’re also used in pacifiers and teethers for babies.

The NRC’s panel has cited studies on animals which have shown that phthalate exposure affects the development of the male reproductive system. Certain phthalates reduce levels of testosterone, and previous studies have associated phthalates to liver cancer, said the panel.

If the EPA conducts an assessment and finds the worries ring true, it may lead to new regulations on phthalate-containing products.

"If we don't do this as a cumulative risk assessment focused on these adverse effects, we're going to be underestimating risks," panel chairwoman Deborah Cory-Slechta of the University of Rochester told Reuters.

President Bush signed a law earlier this year banning three types of phthalates in children’s toys and child care items, save in trace amounts. The law also temporarily prohibited three other chemicals pending further analysis. The six phthalates have been also band in European toys for almost ten years. Certain U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us have already pledged to gradually remove phthalates from toys.

Chris Bryant, from the American Chemistry Council was concerned about the panel’s recommendations since Congress has already requested that the Consumer Product Safety Commission conduct a phthalate risk assessment.

According to Bryant, a broad EPA risk assessment “essentially could result in a study without limits, financially or otherwise.”

Phthalates differ from another chemical called bisphenol (BPA) which is also used in plastic products such as baby bottles, and which has also come under health scrutiny in recent months. Nevertheless, the FDA says that the chemical is safe at current levels of exposure. The agency has plans to research BPA in the future regardless.