02/14/2024
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Chemicals leaching from plastics are leaving Americans notably sicker and poorer, according to a new study.
In 2018 alone, the hormone-disrupting effects of plastics in the nation’s food and water led to a quarter of a trillion dollars in additional healthcare costs, according to findings published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. That’s the equivalent of 5 percent of U.S. healthcare costs and more than 1 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), the New York University researchers found.
By interfering with the chemical messengers governing the human body, micro- and nanoplastics led to a stark increase in conditions including obesity, preterm birth, cancer and heart disease, researchers found.
“Hormones are the signaling molecules underlying basic biological functions: temperature, metabolism, salt, sugar and sex,” pediatrician Leonardo Trasande said. “When these hormones are hacked, there are a broad array of consequences, cradle to grave,” he added, with particularly pernicious impacts on “the developing brains” of young children.
In all cases, the scientists studied chemicals that can leach directly from intact plastics into food, unlike micro- and nanoplastics, which are produced when plastics to break down.
Because their tiny size facilitates the transfer of chemicals out of plastic particles, however, Trasande called plastic particles “carrier pigeons” for these hormone disrupting chemicals. Read the full article to learn more about the specific plastic chemicals and how they harm us.
READ more: https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/4401535-plastics-pollution-disease
