Over 16,000 Chemicals Found in Plastic Products, from Food Packaging to Medical Devices…
This alarming figure was revealed in a recent report funded by the Norwegian Research Council, which is over 3,000 more than the previous estimate by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
According to the recent report, plastic products, from food packaging to children’s toys and medical devices, contain over 16,000 hazardous chemicals – (Illustrative image: AFP).
Jane Muncke, the executive director of the Swiss non-profit Food Packaging Forum, stated that to effectively tackle the plastic pollution crisis, the world must thoroughly examine the entire lifecycle of plastics and address the chemical issues involved.
She noted that researchers have found hundreds, even thousands of chemicals from plastics in the human body, some of which are linked to health problems because these chemicals can leach into water and food.
Notably, a quarter of the identified chemicals lack basic information about their chemical nature, and only 6% of the chemicals found in plastics are regulated internationally.
Referencing the impact of plastic waste pollution on human health, such as causing reproductive issues and cardiovascular diseases, the report emphasizes that merely addressing plastic waste is insufficient to protect the public.
Instead, greater transparency is needed regarding the chemicals—including additives, processing aids, and contaminants—that are incorporated into plastics, including recycled products.
Martin Wagner, the lead author of the report and an environmental scientist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, argues that manufacturers do not genuinely know how many types of chemicals are in their products. Therefore, he believes that without mandatory regulations, there will be no incentive for companies to disclose the chemicals present in plastics.
400 Million Tons of Plastic Waste Annually The report was published amid ongoing negotiations among government officials to establish the first global treaty to address the escalating plastic pollution crisis, with annual plastic waste reaching 400 million tons. Negotiations for a treaty to combat plastic waste are expected to continue next month in Ottawa, Canada, with the aim of finalizing the treaty at the conference in December in Busan, South Korea. |
