Is your water bottle a health hazard? How about your baby's teething ring and other regular household plastics? Industry groups say no. Government agencies are sending mixed messages. Meanwhile, some scientists say yes—and a number of consumers and businesses are dumping these products as a result.

A host of recent studies have found associations between the chemicals found in countless widely used plastics and certain disorders and diseases, such as birth defects, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Here's a look at the products and the potential health issues.

The plastics and the products

There are many types of plastics made from combinations of various chemicals. Recent medical studies have focused on two of these chemicals:

• Bisphenol A (BPA). This compound has been used for half a century in hard polycarbonate plastics and in epoxy resins. BPA is found in the lining of food and beverage cans and in plastic goods like baby bottles, water bottles, food containers, eyeglasses, bike helmets, DVDs, electronics and car parts.
  
  
• Orthophthalates. Better known as phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), this group of chemicals is used to soften vinyl and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Phthalates are found in such products as soaps, shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, water pipes, shower curtains, toys, electrical wires, medical tubing and vinyl flooring.
  
  

Another place these chemicals can now be found: in human blood and urine. Critics say they can break down and leach out of products, especially when heated. We're exposed to them not just through plastics but also through the food we eat and even the air we breathe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says.

Some researchers describe BPA and phthalates as environmental estrogens because they may act like female hormones. They are also sometimes called endocrine disruptors because of their effect on the endocrine system, which regulates reproduction and growth.