Plastic food packaging can expose people to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA)
Shutterstock/Trong Nguyen
Hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of heart disease cases worldwide may be linked to chemicals found in common plastic products, and stricter regulations on such toxins are needed. This suggests that there may be potential benefits to public health.
Maureen Klopper of the University of Maryland and her colleagues investigated three types of chemicals primarily used in plastics: bisphenol A (BPA), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). We evaluated the public health impact of exposure to . BPA and DEHP are used in plastic food packaging, and PBDE is a flame retardant used in some household products such as furniture and electronics.
Based on more than 1,700 previously published studies, the researchers estimated the exposure of people in 38 countries, representing about a third of the world’s population, to these three chemicals. Three of these countries, the United States, Canada, and South Korea, also have public databases that monitor levels of these chemicals in urine and blood samples, providing more accurate data.
The researchers calculated the health effects caused by these chemicals by combining them with medical records and toxicology reports. Researchers found that in 2015, approximately 5.4 million coronary artery diseases and 346,000 strokes were linked to BPA exposure, and approximately 164,000 deaths among people aged 55 to 64 were caused by DEHP. I discovered that it could be.
Thanks to regulations enacted in the 2000s, the prevalence of these chemicals has decreased in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Europe. Researchers estimate that approximately 515,000 deaths could have been avoided if exposure to BPA and DEHP in the United States had remained at post-regulation levels since 2003. This highlights the importance for governments and manufacturers to limit the use of hazardous chemicals in plastic products before they reach consumers. says Cropper.
However, it is important to remember that these results are only approximations. “Frankly, I think one of the real limitations is the lack of exposure data on these substances,” Cropper said. This means that estimates may be less accurate for some countries than for others. “It would be a good idea if more countries could actually monitor (exposure to) these and other substances,” she says. This will also improve our understanding of the public health burden.
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