Ending exposure to two plastic chemicals could have saved over 500,000 lives in one year, study estimates

To highlight the dramatic health costs of plastics, a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines the disease burdens of three common plastic chemicals across one third of the world’s population.

In short:

• In 2015, bisphenol A (BPA) was associated with an estimated 5.4 million cases of ischemic heart disease and 346,000 strokes.
• That same year, exposures to the chemical DEHP were linked to 164,000 deaths among 55 to 64 year olds.
• A class of flame retardants known as PBDEs contributed to a loss of 11.7 million IQ points in children born to exposed mothers in 2015.
• Eliminating exposures to BPA and DEHP would have saved an estimated 600,000 lives in 2015 alone.

Key quote:

“Protection of human health against the hazards of chemicals in plastics will require a paradigm shift in national chemical law in multiple countries including the United States, Canada, and the EU. It will require a more precautionary approach that prioritizes the protection of human health and no longer presumes chemicals are safe.”

Why this matters:

More than 16,000 chemicals are known to be used in the production of plastics. While the connection between BPA, DEHP, and PBDEs and the health harms examined in this study are well established, over 70% of the known chemicals in plastics have never been tested for safety, and only 6% are subject to any type of regulation. The authors of this study highlight the high likelihood that other common chemicals have toxic effects that aren’t yet recognized, and emphasize the need for regulations that more effectively protect human health.

Related EHN coverage:

• Chemicals in plastic responsible for nearly $250 billion worth of US health costs in a single year
• Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought: Report

More resources: PlastChem, a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council, seeks to identify and address potential harm caused by plastics and polymers. Their recent report summarizes the current science available on the over 16,000 chemicals used in plastics.