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New research shows that exposure to chemicals found in conventional plastics can pose health risks at all stages of life.
The world-first umbrella study by the University of Adelaide’s international research organisation JBI and the Australian philanthropic charity Minderoo Foundation has raised concerns about the impacts of chemicals in plastics across the human lifespan.
The work appears in the journal Annals of Global Health.
A review of the available evidence found that bisphenol A (BPA), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) may be associated with adverse health outcomes, including miscarriages, low birth weight, obesity, blood pressure problems, asthma, bronchitis, precocious puberty, endometriosis, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
JBI’s Director of Synthetic Sciences, Associate Professor Edoardo Aromataris, and his team, in close collaboration with Minderoo Foundation plastics and plastic-related chemicals experts Dr Sarah Dunlop and Dr Christos Symeonides, analyzed 52 systematic reviews involving approximately 1.5 million participants.
“For each of the chemical classes, consistent, statistically significant (95%) evidence of harm across a wide range of health effects was found,” said Associate Professor Aromataris.
“None of the chemicals examined in the umbrella study in connection with plastic can be considered safe, as there are numerous adverse health effects associated with each class of chemicals.”
Dr Symeonides said the findings underpin calls for national and international efforts to regulate plastics.
“From the water we drink to the products we use, plastics are an inevitable part of modern life,” he said.
“This research proves categorically that none of the chemicals studied – used in plastic items that people around the world come into contact with every day – should be considered safe.
“This is a wake-up call for the world. We need to minimize our exposure to these plastic chemicals, as well as those whose effects on human health have not yet been studied but are known to be toxic.”
JBI and Minderoo Foundation welcome the work of the High Ambition Coalition – a group of countries seeking an ambitious, comprehensive agreement that regulates the entire life cycle of plastics and protects human health.
This includes a robust, comprehensive and efficient mechanism to regulate the chemicals used in plastics.
Further information:
Christos Symeonides et al., A comprehensive review of meta-analyses assessing the associations between human health and exposure to major classes of plastic-associated chemicals, Annals of Global Health (2024). DOI: 10.5334/aogh.4459
Provided by the University of Adelaide
Quote: Umbrella report highlights impacts of plastic chemicals across the human lifespan (August 20, 2024), accessed August 20, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-umbrella-highlights-impacts-plastic-chemicals.html
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