The risk of adult-onset asthma is more than double for workers employed in offices with plastic wall-lining. This conclusion emerged from a case-control study in southern Finland examining the work and home environment of 521 asthmatics and 932 controls. The researchers suggest that the association is a result of increased exposure to the phthalate DEHP in work environments that have used materials containing polyvinyl chloride, which can be as much as 40% by weight DEHP. More...