Policy and Research Recommendations: Plastics

Plastics are widely used in consumer products and packaging of all kinds. There are, however, serious risks to human health and the environment from the widespread use of plastics.

The three plastics that have been shown to leach toxic chemicals when heated, worn or put under pressure are polycarbonate (leaches bisphenol A), polystyrene (leaches styrene) and PVC (leaches phthalates).

Bisphenol A is used in the linings of cans, baby bottles, sports water bottles and dental sealants. The evidence about bisphenol A and its many effects on human health is convincing and growing. Studies funded by the chemical industry say it’s harmless; non-industry studies show it’s a powerful hormone-disruptor linked to breast cancer.

Phthalates, another chemical family of concern, are found in many consumer products including rubber ducks, other children’s bath toys and teething toys, and are used to soften plastics, especially PVC. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors that increase the risk of early puberty in girls (and therefore, breast cancer) and have been linked to reduced testosterone levels, lowered sperm counts, genital defects in baby boys and testicular cancer in young men.

Federal Policy Recommendations

• The public should pressure the EPA to fully implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program as mandated by Congress to effectively and efficiently screen chemicals for hormonal activity and to make the results readily available to the public without delay.
  
• Congress should ban the manufacture, distribution and sale of consumer products containing bisphenol A and phthalates. Learn more about current federal legislation regarding BPA.

State Policy Recommendations

• In the absence of federal regulation, states should either ban or label the presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals like bisphenol A and phthalates in all consumer products.
  
• Until then, advocates should support legislation at the state level (like the Toxic Toys Bill of 2007 in California) that reduces children’s exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals in consumer products.

Research Required

• Invest in green chemistry research on bio-based plastics that can be composted after they have been used in consumer products.
  
• Human studies are needed that look at exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals—like bisphenol A and phthalates—and breast cancer outcomes. This may require an investment in new methodologies because exposure to these chemicals is so widespread in the population, challenging currently available testing methods. These limited (and expensive) human studies should both inform and be informed by targeted animal studies. Coordination of these two research models is critical to moving the research forward.

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For references, see State of the Evidence 2008.