Despite widespread adoption and advancements across the modern world, plastic production has lasting negative implications for human health. As part of the Foltyn Seminar series, this year’s seminar titled “Plastics—Past and Present, but not the Future of Human Health” took center stage to confront the rapidly growing threat of plastics to our health, limitations faced with eliminating plastic waste, and opportunities to reduce exposure.

Guest speaker Leonardo Trasande, professor of pediatrics, Department of Population Health professor, and director of the Division of Environmental Pediatrics at New York University, kicked off the seminar by sharing that 400 million tons of plastic is made annually today. Of that 400 million, roughly 91% directly end up in the natural environment.

“Only 9% of all plastic waste is actually recycled,” explained Trasande. “The other 91% goes to landfills, exports, or is eliminated by burning, which releases highly flammable and toxic gases. Plastics are petrol chemicals, made from oil and gas, and their interaction with our planet ultimately influences ecosystems, climate change, and human health.” 

Immense Impacts on Human Health

In the United States alone, human health costs attributed to plastic amount to $249 billion annually. Many of these are heavily stemmed from their impact on the endocrine system, which produces the hormones that interact with nearly every cell in our bodies. Some leading endocrine-disrupting chemicals are bisphenols, phthalates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), brominated flame retardants, and dioxins.

According to a 2023 study, excessive phthalate exposure leads to reductions in total gray matter, resulting in lower IQs for youth. Trasande emphasized how these chemicals are “literally shrinking the brains of babies and leading to cognitive deficits, autism, ADHD, and many other neurological issues.”

“This exposure impacts everything in our bodies from metabolism to temperature regulation to fertility and increased risk for diseases,” said Trasande. “Recent research has helped us understand how this impacts obesity, diabetes, and various cancers that change not just people living in fenceline communities but also general populations.”

Plastic production also has a dangerous and disproportionate impact on human health. Most plastics are produced globally in developing countries and low-income neighborhoods even within the United States, resulting in substantial health risks for surrounding communities. One concerning example is Cancer Alley, an industrial hub spanning across southern Louisiana with more than 150 refineries, plastic plants, and chemical facilities.

“We are magnifying this problem in an especially unequal way,” said Trasande. “Each of these facilities produces a wide range of chemicals that seep into local communities, resulting in higher rates of cancer, organ malfunctions, birth defects, and other issues.”

Plastics are comprised of any mixture ranging from more than 16,000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals are hazardous to human health, with long-term impacts not fully understood. As plastics are produced and leaked into the environment, their chemicals and microplastics are absorbed by plants and wildlife, directly impacting humans through food supply.

One of the greatest threats to human health from plastic production is microplastics. Microplastics enter our bodies through food, drinks, clothing, the air we breathe, and even our skin, with many becoming permanently embedded in our organs and bloodstream.

Trasande explained how scientists have broadly identified microplastics across all parts of the human body. “At some level, we are all ‘plastic people’,” said Trasande. “We need to learn more about the full impacts on our health, but early findings raise serious health concerns involving strokes, heart attacks, and cancer in the long-term.” 

Steps to Reduce Plastic Use and Exposure

Even in the face of these alarming realities surrounding plastic production and waste, there are safe actions any household can take to limit exposure to plastics today. According to a youth-led, community-based research intervention in 2016, one effective option is to choose dye-free packaging for food and personal care products.

“Our household environments do matter,” explained Trasande. “Chemicals can accumulate in furniture and dust. Increasing air circulation through fans and open windows, substituting furniture with better building materials, and vacuuming with a HEPA filter can all have a massive impact.”

Regarding our own dietary consumptions, Trasande recommends various steps to help limit exposure: avoid canned foods that have plastic lining, don’t microwave plastic containers or put them in the dishwasher, avoid plastic bottles numbered 3, 6, or 7, throw out etched plastic food containers and opt for glass containers, and use stainless steel or cast-iron cookware. Each of these actions can reduce exposure to the chemicals that leak into our food and drink sources.

“The key is to start with small steps,” said Trasande. “They may not seem hugely consequential, but if we add them together, they will achieve the change we seek. This begins with efforts like eating organic and buying more foods that don’t rely on plastic packaging.”

Ultimately, it will be up to companies to create sustainable alternatives that help us reduce plastic usage. A driving force in leading this charge will be the support of citizens to press policy changes into action that recognize the damages of plastic chemicals and prioritize decreasing overall production.

“Looking ahead, how can we act to better tackle plastic waste? Should we reduce, reuse, or recycle?” asked Trasande. “Recycling is energy intensive, contributes to climate change, and can carry along the chemical toxicity of previous cycles. What we need is to define essential uses of plastic and balance production by phasing out non-essential uses.”