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Use of plastic is having significant impact on health

Instead of decreasing, the use of plastic is increasing all over the world, and it is also affecting people's health. Now through a study it has been claimed that if the current trend of plastic consumption continues, then the number of diseases will double in the next few years. Emissions from plastic systems all over the world, which include greenhouse gases, air polluting particles and toxic chemicals released from factories, can have adverse health effects more than double by the year 2040 compared to 2016 levels.

The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, also said that global production of plastic should not peak until 2100, otherwise the environmental and health burden on an already overloaded system will further increase.

Investigation of health effects of plastic

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and some institutions in France said in their study that the potential effects of plastic pollution and emissions throughout its lifecycle on human health are being increasingly recognized. However, the full scale of its impact has just begun to be fully measured.

The team said that measuring the health effects of plastic throughout its lifecycle can inform global action against pollution, which will promote sustainability in the environment, economy and health. It further said that the lack of disclosure of the chemical composition of plastics “severely limits” lifecycle assessments for effective policy making.

The Plastics Lifecycle Assessment Study is the first global-scale study to estimate health impacts of greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and chemicals released in terms of disability-adjusted lifeyears, the researchers said.

effects of plastic products

In this study, the life cycle of plastic products includes raw material extraction to polymer production, post-use waste recycling technology, dumpsites and open burning and environmental pollution.

The study authors said the model creates a flexible framework that can be extended to incorporate new data and methods and improve the accuracy of health impact estimates associated with plastics, their alternatives and replacements – information that can contribute to a rapidly changing policy landscape.

The framework also recommends a significant reduction in current primary plastic (virgin plastic) production in order to make a transition away from it. Researchers said that a globally coordinated policy that addresses upstream impacts through a full lifecycle vision is critical to protecting human health.

Consensus is being formed regarding Global Plastic Treaty

Regarding their study, the authors said, "We found that emissions of plastic throughout its life cycle have a significant impact on human health through global warming, air pollution, cancer and other dangerous diseases. The greatest harm was caused by the initial production of plastic and its open burning." “Under P2O (Plastics-to-Ocean) BAU (Business-as-Usual) projections for 2016-40, adverse health impacts associated with the global plastic system more than double,” he said.

Their suggestion is that in order to effectively reduce plastic emissions and its health impacts, appropriate policy makers should better regulate the production of new plastics for non-essential use and significantly reduce them, so that plastic emissions and health impacts can be effectively reduced. More than 175 countries agreed to create a Global Plastics Treaty, work on which is going on.