PLASTICS: THE NEVER ENDING “GIFT”
Besides polluting oceans, land and air and contributing to global warming, plastics, “contain and leach toxic chemicals that include endocrine disruptors (EDC’s) that threaten human health.
We have been warned that plastics are now inside each of us. The air has emissions from every part of the life cycle of plastics from the drilling for oil, the processing of oil, the manufacturing of products, their disposal and breakdown, the burning of landfills, and the endocrine disrupters leached from them into air, soil and water. Marine life is threatened and now the truth is known about the destructive effect the endocrine disruptors have on us humans. Worst of all, plastics never “go-away”. They degrade into smaller bits, but continue to do harm at each stage. Production of plastics continues and increases every year. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) says that almost 100% of plastics produced since its beginning are still in our world in some form—the never-ending “gift”.
The International Pollutant Elimination Network has been doing research on the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC’s) and has discovered more than 1000 different toxic chemical used in the life cycle of plastics—most of which have endocrine disrupting markers. These include BPA, PFAS, dioxins, u-v stabilizing agents, lead, cadmium, flame retardant and more. These chemicals may lead to cancer, diabetes, reproductive disorders, and neurological and development disorders in fetuses and children.
Some plastics containing products are the usual suspects of plastic bags, food containers and straws. However, they may also be found in paints, children’s toys, non-stick cookware, construction material, textiles, car parts and many more products. Unfortunately, most of the biodegradable plastics still contain some EDC’s. Scientists are working on non-toxic substitutes that will be EDC free.
The best way to fight these toxic chemicals is to greatly reduce the amount we purchase and use. It is no doubt that plastics are convenient, but do we want to continue to ignore the downside of this never-ending product? Our individual and corporate answers affect the health of humans and of our planet.
Earth Steward Action: List the plastics in your home and vow to reduce the list. Write to city officials in support of the plastic bag ban.
Sources: https://www.endocrine.org/topics/endc/plastics-edc’s-amd-health (reported on the Science Daily webpage) https://oceanliteracy.unesco.org/plastic-pollution-ocean/