"These things raise questions that need to be addressed by industry and government," Lamb says, "I'd hate for people to come away feeling like they're in danger if they use these products."

Environmental groups and researchers maintain that it's possible to have modern conveniences without all the health risks. They note that the Government has been able to eradicate other chemical dangers.

"We've see lead levels dramatically decline in kisd, PCB (Polychlorinated biphenyl) levels decline, all because of direct government intervention that gets these out of the environment," says Jane Houlihan, a scientist with the Environmental Working Group.

The EPA says it's working on that. The agency's Office of Pollution prevention and Toxic has been exploring "green chemistry" option - a fundamental approach to pollution prevention on a molecular level - for 10 year now.

If the chemicals that make plastic soft are endocrine disruptors, chemists now have the ability to design them without that side effect. It just takes convincing industry that the result is going to be cheaper in the long run, says Mary Ellen Weber, director of this research group.

"When you can replace a known toxic chemical with sugar or cornstarch or sunlight., you know you've got an environmentally preferable product," Weber says."