Transcript What Every Environmentalist (And Consumer) Should Know

Health Effects of
Petroleum-Based
Plastics
Sarah (Steve) Mosko, Ph.D.
Earth Resource Foundation
7/16/2015
Annual US Plastic Resin Production & Recovery
140
billion pounds
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1973 1979 1985 1991 1997 2003
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Production
Recovery
Why isn’t plastics recycling
simple?
 Low melting point, 210 - 480 °F
 Soooooo many different types
Common plastics additives
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Antimicrobials
Antioxidants
Antistatic agents
Blowing agents
Catalysts/curing agents
Colorants
Fillers
Free-radical initiators
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Impact Modifiers
Lubricants/mold releasers
Reinforcers
Heat stabilizers
Ultraviolet stabilizers
Plasticizers
Flame retardants
Since they’re just “mixed in” they can migrate out!
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(www.Mindfully.org; Stringer et al, 2001)
Plastic Resins
V or PVC - Polyvinyl chloride
PS - Polystyrene
Others - Polycarbonates
#3 PVC around the house
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PVC Medical Devices with DEHP
vinyl gloves
flexible bags
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flexible tubing
Pre-natal phthalate exposure in rats causes
demasculinization of male reproductive tract
Testes
Epididymis
Control
DEHP
Seminal Vesicles
Control
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Control
DEHP
DBP
(J Otby, 2000/EPA; LE Gray, Jr., 1999)
Can phthalates subtly alter boys?
Boys with the highest exposure to multiple
phthalates were 90 times as likely to have a short
anogential distance as boys with the least exposure.
Short anogenital distance was linked to…
smaller penis volume
undescended testes
indistinct scrotum
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(Swan et al., 2005)
Estimated daily phthalate exposure
levels in mothers whose sons had
short anogenital distances were 100
times lower than EPA’s current safety
threshold level for phthalates.
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(Marsee et al, 2006)
Bisphenol-A:
…in #7 polycarbonate plastics
…estrogenic
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Congression failure in oocyte meiosis
from Bisphenol-A
 Bisphenol-A from drinking water
bottles produced aneuploidy.
 Exposure levels as low as 20 ng/g body wt
(ppb) for one week produced aneuploidy.
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(Hunt et al., 2003)
BPA and Miscarriage:
Recurrent miscarriage Blood BPA levels were 3x’s higher
in women with 3+ consecutive miscarriages.
Of those who became pregnant again, ½ miscarried again –
¼ of those fetuses had the wrong chromosome number.
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(Sugiura-Ogasawara et al., 2005)
Bisphenol-A concentrations in
pregnant women and fetuses
 Bisphenol-A was
present in all blood
samples.
 Exposure was at levels
causing reproductive
toxicity (prostate
enlargement) in mice.
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(Schonfelder et al., 2002)
#6 Polystyrene safety concerns…
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Brominated Flame Retardants
Consumer Products
Computers
Printers
Hair dryers
Toasters
Coffee makers
Foam furniture
(PS, up to 15% by wt.)
PBDEs
Breast milk
Record
Neurodevelopmental
toxins (e.g. learning & memory)
EDCs (sex & thyroid)
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levels
Umbilical Cord Blood
House Dust
(Environmental Working Group, 2003, 2005, 2004)
(Silent Spring Institute, 2004)
Levels of fire retardants rose 60-fold in
Swedish breast milk from 1972 to 1997
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(MeironytŽ & Bergman, 1999)
PBDEs in U.S. Breast Milk Samples
(per gram lipid)
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(Schecter at al, 2003)
“EPA Is Faulted as Failing to Shield
Public from Toxins” LA Times 7-13-05
Government Accountability Office report:
1. Of 80,000 chemicals in use, health data available on only 15%.
2. EPA has sought info on dangers of only 200 chemicals.
3. Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 doesn’t protect public
e.g. no substance has been banned since 1989 (asbestos ban was later
overturned in 1991 for lack of proof).
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Introduce then test policy
70-100,000 man-made chemicals introduced into human society since WII:
1. A chemical or product is widely introduced with little or no testing.
2. Health effects are reported in a subsection of the population.
3. Testing is undertaken to discover what chemicals and mechanisms cause
the effects (at taxpayers’ expense).
4. An exposure limit level is devised to protect the population from these
health effects.
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Precautionary Principle
Declaration of the Rio Conference on Environment
and Development, 1992
When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the
environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if
some cause and effect relationships are not fully established
scientifically. The proponent of an activity, rather than the public,
should bear the burden of proof.
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Precautionary Principle
The Precautionary Principle seeks to prevent harm before it happens.
It shifts the current approach toward decision-making
from "risk assessment" - asks "how much harm is allowable?"
to "alternatives analysis” - asks "how little damage is possible?"
For example, instead of asking “how much arsenic in arsenic-treated wood is
allowable in children's playground equipment?” look instead for alternatives
to arsenic-treated wood.
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San Francisco Adopts the Precautionary Principle 2003
The City adopted the Precautionary Principle as its policy framework
to develop laws for a healthier and more just San Francisco.
Every San Franciscan has a right to a safe and healthy environment.
EU R.E.A.C.H. System
(Registration, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals, 2001)
“Precautionary Principle”
1. Shifts responsibility to industry
for testing and risk assessment.
2. Places stringent controls on
dangerous substances
(carcinogens, reproductive
toxins, chemicals that are
persistent or bio-accumulate).
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CREDO Cluster
(Cluster of Research into Endocrine
Disruption in Europe)
Links together >60 research
laboratories in Europe to understand
the causes of escalating reproductive
disorders in humans and in wildlife
and to examine the impact of
mixtures/low dose exposure to EDCs.
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(www.credocluster,info)
1996 US Congress mandated testing of all
synthetic chemicals for endocrine disruption
EDSTAC (Endocrine Disruption Screening and Testing
Advisory Committee) recommended a 14-assay protocol in
1998
As of 2005, none of the assays have been approved
EPA’s lack of funding and staff is cited
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EU leaves US in the dust
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R.E.A.C.H. Directive
Toxic Substances Control
Act of 1976
CREDO Cluster
EDSTAC
US corporations phasing out PVC
Microsoft
Hewlett-Packard
Wal-Mart
Johnson & Johnson
Catholic Healthcare West
Aveda
Bath and Body Works
Crabtree & Evelyn
The Body Shop
Victorias’s Secret
Nike
Adidas
Firestone Building Products
Kaiser Permanente
Shaw Carpet
Gerber
Samsung
SC Johnson
Toyota
Volvo
Honda
Volkswagen
Lego System
(Center for Health, Environment & Justice 12/07/05)
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Wooden computing from EcoGeek
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