The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers. This week’s tip was written by Lisa Kaas Boyle, co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
Environmentalists have recognized plastic pollution as a danger to the ecosystem for decades but only in the past decade has science pinpointed the threat to our own species. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade: it breaks down into micro and nanoparticles that have real health impacts for humans just as the large pieces of plastics, like bags, choke and kill wildlife. We are all now eating and drinking plastic in the form of these small particles that have entered our food chain through our rain, soil and seafood. Plastic particles are even in the air we breathe. We are also consuming the chemicals that leach from the plastic containers of our food and drink. A 2021 study in The Journal of Hazardous Materials estimated that we are ingesting as much as a credit card-sized amount (five grams) of microplastic a week.
While scientists are still uncovering the risks of the chemical load we consume from plastics, research is already producing alarming results. Reproductive health expert Shanna Swan, author of “Count Down: How Our Modern World is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race,” has warned that exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals from plastics—phthalates and bisphenals in particular—are a cause of declining male fertility. She predicts this ongoing decline may result in widespread male sterility by 2045.
Furthermore, these hormone-disrupting chemicals are linked to higher levels of cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. An NYU Grossman School of Medicine study found that people 55 to 64 years old with the highest levels of phthalate in their urine were more likely to die of heart disease.
In addition, plastic particles have been found to cause chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. A Chinese study found that Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients have 50% more plastic particles in their feces. Patients who used plastic bottles and plastic packaged food had higher levels of these plastic particles in their feces.
Styrene, a derivative of benzene and the basis of polystyrene (also known by its Dow Chemical trademark of Styrofoam) is a known neurotoxin and carcinogen. Consuming hot food or beverages from polystyrene is a common source of exposure.
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group’s studies show that even before birth, fetuses are exposed to hundreds of chemicals in the womb. Research like this is inspiring political action to curb single-use plastics and to ban groups of chemicals that harm human life. However, the political process is slow and contentious with industry pushing back as profits from petrochemicals are high.
To learn how you can protect yourself and your children from chemical exposure while our government continues to favor commerce over human health, watch the documentary “Overload: America’s Toxic Love Story,” and visit Resilient Palisades’ Zero Waste Team’s page to learn more.
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