Research on the human body
What effects does plastic have on the human body and how can we prevent it from entering our bodies in the first place?
Effects on health
To solidify or to make more flexible plastic products, substances such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates are used. Both these groups of chemical substances are strongly suspected of disrupting our hormone balance and having effects on our health. Everyone, young or old, is constantly being exposed to them. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are associated with around eighty diseases, including testicular cancer, obesity, and reproductive disorders. Almost all people have traces of BPA in their bodies. Pregnant women and young children are in particular, high-risk groups.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals
The best-known endocrine-disruptor, bisphenol A, causes fertility problems, among other ailments. Plasticizers are also held responsible for this. A healthy man these days has 40 million sperm cells per milliliter of semen, while twenty years ago that figure would have been 60 million. As early as 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of possible carcinogenic properties of endocrine disruptors and concluded that these substances are a global threat to public health. Yet they are still used on a large scale. The Netherlands has opted for education rather than stricter regulations. In March 2016, the then-current Minister of Health, Edith Schippers (VVD), promised the Dutch parliament that the information provided to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers would be expanded. In 2018, the Plastic Soup Foundation established that this had not yet been achieved.
National Plan in The Netherlands
The Netherlands aims to be at the forefront of the transition to a circular economy. This is an economy in which old plastic is used again as a raw material. However, we cannot prevent endocrine-disrupting chemicals from old plastic ending up in recycled plastic. Research is needed to create effective policy measures to ban endocrine disruptors from the circular economy. Wemos presented a Nationaal Plan (in Dutch) to protect the Dutch population and future generations, against large-scale plastic exposure and health effects from endocrine disruptors. This call for a national approach regarding harmful substances in the circular economy is supported by WECF International, Stichting Tegengif and the Plastic Soup Foundation.
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Knowledge gaps
Plastic has been found in human poop, but not only. Plastic particles can enter our blood, and pass through our skin. But more research is still needed.
Pathogens
Plastic has the ability to carry around pathogens and diseases. It also provides the perfect ground for bacteria and viruses to develop.
Exposure to plastic
Plastic is everywhere in our food, in our drinking water, and the air we breathe. But what are the health consequences of this exposure?
