Leading medics warn of ‘profound public health crisis’ caused by plastics
Experts are calling for evidence on the health impact of plastics to be placed at the core of any UN treaty agreed at final talks in November.
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Your support makes all the difference.Leading doctors have warned of the “profound public health crisis” caused by plastic pollution as they called for action ahead of UN negotiations to tackle the global issue.
The Plastic Health Council, a coalition of global medics and campaigners, have written an open letter to delegates ahead of the final round of talks for the UN Global Plastic Treaty in November.
The group are calling for scientific evidence to be placed at the core of any final UN agreement, warning that the current draft “will fail to effectively address the true cost of plastic on health unless it changes course.”
The planet pays the price of plastic - but so, too, does its people. It is not only the oceans that are filling with plastic: across all ages, our bodies contain growing volumes of plastic particles
Signatories include representatives from the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, Queens University Belfast, Doctors Against Harm and NHS Trusts.
The letter also emphasises the financial burden of plastic pollution on public health internationally.
Toxins found in plastics that interfere with hormones, known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), cost the US at least 250 billion dollars (£187 billion) in economic impact in 2018, according to the group.
This could pay for the annual salaries of almost the entire registered nurse workforce in the country, it added.
The doctors also said the UN treaty “must reduce the production volume of plastics, commit to funding sustainable chemistry research to create safe replacements, and mandate comprehensive testing of all chemicals in plastics”.
During the negotiations, countries like the US, China and Saudi Arabia as well as big players in the petrochemicals industry have resisted the inclusion of controls on how much plastic is produced each year.
The US has reportedly now shifted its position to support a global treaty that would call for a reduction in plastic production, aligning closer to countries like the UK, Peru, Rwanda and most EU nations.
It comes after recent scientific studies discovered uncovered microplastics in human blood, placentas, breast milk and testicles.
This is a global outcry from the medical profession. Doctors on the frontline of the crisis are uniting to call on policymakers to fight against the health hazards caused by plastics
These can be responsible for wide-ranging health impacts including raised risk of stroke, heart attack and premature death.
The Plastic Health Council, which has been actively involved in each round of negotiations, said it is working to ensure the UN treaty effectively addresses microplastic health impacts.
Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive care medicine at the University College London & Whittington Health NHS Trust, said: “The planet pays the price of plastic – but so, too, does its people.
“It is not only the oceans that are filling with plastic: across all ages, our bodies – from placenta to brain and blood vessels – contain growing volumes of plastic particles.”
Prof Montgomery also warned that humans are absorbing the chemicals plastics contain, such as plasticizers, which make plastics soft, adding that growing evidence suggests these are poison.
Meanwhile, Sian Sutherland, co-founder of the Plastic Health Council, said: “The evidence is overwhelming and time for compromise is over.
“This is a global outcry from the medical profession. Doctors on the frontline of the crisis are uniting to call on policymakers to fight against the health hazards caused by plastics.”
Similarly, a paper published in the BMJ Global Health journal this week warned of the huge and growing toll bottled water is taking on human and planetary health.
The authors from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar said the impacts warrant an urgent rethink of how the material is used as an estimated one million bottles are bought every minute around the world with demand continuing to rise.
They wrote that around 10% and 78% of bottled water samples contain contaminants, including microplastics and various other chemicals like phthalates used to make plastics more durable and bisphenol A linked with health impacts.
However, industry marketing has abetted the belief that bottled water is safer and often healthier than tap water, they added.
“Collectively, the accumulated evidence underscores the critical role of government interventions and educational campaigns in shifting public perception and behaviour,” the authors wrote.