Plastic and Health: The Hidden Cost of a Plastic Planet

Publication Date: February 2019 | CIEL, Earthworks, TEJAS, UPSTREAM, GAIA, Exeter University

Despite being one of the most pervasive materials on the planet, plastic and its impact on human health is poorly understood. Yet exposure to plastic are expanding into new areas of the environment and food chain as existing plastic products fragment into smaller particles and concentrate toxic chemicals. As plastic production increases, this exposure will only grow.

To date, research into the human health impacts of plastic has focused narrowly on specific moments in the plastic lifecycle, from wellhead to refinery, from store shelves to human bodies, and from disposal to ongoing impacts as air pollutants and ocean plastic. Individually, each stage of the plastic lifecycle poses significant risks to human health.

Together, the lifecycle impacts of plastic paint an unequivocally toxic picture: plastic threatens human health on a global scale. Read More >>