The threat of Plastic

Americans, especially our children, are under siege. The U.S. produces or imports 42 billion pounds of industrial chemicals per day. Those chemicals find their way from products into to the environment and eventually in living things. The CDC has found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans. This includes toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium, pesticides, flame retardants, and rocket fuel (perchlorate).

Our health and our children’s future are threatened by the potentially serious impact on our health by even small amounts of toxins like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, which are key ingredients in modern plastics. They may disrupt the endocrine system leading to developmental problems. Rising rates of obesity, diabetes autism, attention-hyperactivity disorder could have chemical connections. There is an understanding emerging that children are highly susceptible to environmental hazards.

Why are children more susceptible than adults?

1. Children ages 1 through 5 eat three to four times more per unit of body weight than the average adult.
2. Infants and children drink more than 2½ times as much water as adults on a percentage-of-body weight basis.
3. A resting infant’s air intake is twice that of an adult, and a baby’s surface-to-volume ratio of skin to weight is 2 ½ times greater per unit of body mass compared to that of an adult.

This means that children have an exposure to environmental toxins at greater levels than adults.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been a failure. The burden of proving chemicals dangerous falls almost entirely on the government while citizens and regulators are denied information about how substances are made and what their effects are because of industry confidentiality built into the TSCA. The Environmental Protection Agency has lacked the power to ban even a dangerous carcinogen like asbestos.

If we look at BPA, we see that it is a synthetic estrogen, and plastics with BPA can break down when they’re washed, heated, or stressed which allows the chemical to leach into food and water and then enter the body. BPA has been found in 93% of Americans over the age of six. Higher levels of phthalates have been linked to earlier breast development in girls which is a possible risk factor for breast cancer and are suspect in the rise of hypospadias (a deformity of the urethra in boys). A recent study by Shana Swan of the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester found that women that had higher levels of phthalates during pregnancy were more likely to have children with behavioral problems.

A fatal flaw in testing is that only one chemical in a body is tested at a time. The reality is that we encounter several chemicals in combination, which might react differently.

What can parents do to protect their children?

1. Use glass, ceramic, and stainless steel for storing food. It’s the safest way to protect against chemicals.
2. Never use or buy products (food, personal care, or cleaning items) in plastics number 3, 6, or 7. See description at end.
3. Plastics numbered 1, 2, 4 or 5 may be used for storage of food that contains no fat and is cold.
4. Never use plastic to reheat food and never reheat with plastic covers or plastic wrap.
5. Contact New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg and Illinois Representative Bobby Rush to express your support of their pending updates to the TSCA.

Let’s protect our children.

Plastic number 3 – PVC may contain phthalates which can pass into food, water, and cosmetics. The chemicals also can emit gas from curtains or pipes and can be breathed in.

Plastic number 6 – Polystyrene, a toxic chemical, leaks into contents and is not biodegradable.

Plastic number 7 – Polycarbonate can contain BPA which can leach into food and water.

Bibliography

Goode, Caron B. EdD. Raising Intuitive Children. New Jersey: New Page Books, 2009