6 environmental research studies reveal critical health risks from plastic

Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and flame retardants (PBDEs) are strongly associated with adverse health effects on humans and laboratory animals. A special section in the October 2008 issue of Environmental Research, "A Plastic World" provides critical new research on environmental contaminants and adverse reproductive and behavioral effects.

Plastic products contain "endocrine disrupting chemicals" that can block the production of the male sex hormone testosterone (phthalates used in PVC plastic), mimic the action of the sex hormone estrogen (bisphenol A or BPA used in polycarbonate plastic), and interfere with thyroid hormone (brominated flame retardants or PBDEs used in many types of plastic).

Two articles report very similar changes in male reproductive organs in rats and humans related to fetal exposure to phthalates. Two articles show that fetal exposure to BPA or PBDEs disrupts normal development of the brain and behavior in rats and mice. Two other articles provide data that these chemicals are massively contaminating the oceans and causing harm to aquatic wildlife.

The other studies integrate new laboratory research with a broader view reflecting exposures to a variety of chemicals in plastic. These ubiquitous chemicals found in many plastics act independently and together to adversely affect human, animal and environmental health.

The articles show amongst others the massive contamination of the Pacific Ocean with plastic, and the amount of contamination has increased dramatically in recent years; animal brain structure, brain chemistry and behavioral effects from exposure to BPA and "phthalate syndrome" in rats' male offspring.

"For the first time a series of articles will appear together that identify that billions of kilograms of a number of chemicals used in the manufacture of different types of plastic can leach out of plastic products and cause harm to the brain and reproductive system when exposure occurs during fetal life or prior to weaning," emphasized Dr. Frederick vom Saal, Guest Editor of the "Plastic World".

"Not only are these studies of scientific importance, they also contribute to the ongoing US congressional hearings involving the Food and Drug Administration," remarked Gert-Jan Geraeds, Publisher of Environmental Research, "As such, "The Plastic World" has a broader societal impact and raises awareness of increasingly important environmental issues".

References:

Frederick S. vom Saal, Stefano Parmigiani, Paola L. Palanza, Lorne G. Everett, Richard Ragaini, The plastic world: Sources, amounts, ecological impacts and effects on development, reproduction, brain and behavior in aquatic and terrestrial animals and humans, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 127 - 130

Charles James Moore, Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 131 – 139

Jörg Oehlmann, Matthias Oetken, Ulrike Schulte-Oehlmann, A critical evaluation of the environmental risk assessment for plasticizers in the freshwater environment in Europe, with special emphasis on bisphenol A and endocrine disruption, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 140 – 149

Paola Palanza, Laura Gioiosa, Frederick S. vom Saal, Stefano Parmigiani, Effects of developmental exposure to bisphenol A on brain and behavior in mice, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 150 – 157

Chris E. Talsness, Overview of toxicological aspects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers: A flame-retardant additive in several consumer products, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 158 – 167

Kembra L. Howdeshell, Cynthia V. Rider, Vickie S. Wilson, L. Earl Gray Jr., Mechanisms of action of phthalate esters, individually and in combination, to induce abnormal reproductive development in male laboratory rats, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp. 168 – 176

Shanna H. Swan, Environmental phthalate exposure in relation to reproductive outcomes and other health endpoints in humans, Environmental Research, 108 (2008), pp.

Source: Elsevier

Related stories:

Tests find chemical leaches from 'safe' products
Products marketed for infants or billed as "microwave safe" release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated, an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has found.
Urban growers go high-tech to feed city dwellers
(AP) -- Terry Fujimoto sees the future of agriculture in the exposed roots of the leafy greens he and his students grow in thin streams of water at a campus greenhouse.
New research will seal the future of green packaging
Researchers at the University of Bath and the food & drinks research centre at Campden BRI are leading a project to create a new high speed environmentally-friendly packaging process that will use recycled materials and reduce the amount of plastic used, cutting the waste that goes into landfill.
Acrylic glass made of sugar
In future, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) - better known as acrylic glass - could be made from natural raw materials such as sugars, alcohols or fatty acids. PMMA is manufactured by polymerising methyl methacrylate (MMA). In a bacterial strain, scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have found an enzyme which could be used for the biotechnological production of a precursor of MMA. Compared with the previous chemical production process, a biotechnological process is far more environmentally friendly.
Urea tanks on diesel trucks -- that's the law in the United States starting in 2010
Urea tanks will be standard equipment for most new diesel trucks, buses, cars, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) manufactured in the United States after Jan. 1, 2010. An automotive grade of urea will be injected into the vehicles' exhaust stream to "scrub" nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the diesel exhaust.
Flexible charge pump: New small-scale generator produces alternating current by stretching zinc oxide wires
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a new type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded.
Extreme weather postpones the flowering time of plants
Extreme weather events have a greater effect on flora than previously presumed. A one-month drought postpones the time of flowering of grassland and heathland plants in Central Europe by an average of 4 days. With this a so-called 100-year drought event equates to approx. a decade of global warming.
As more genital birth defects are seen in boys, attention turns to phthalates
At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, surgeon Howard Snyder says he and his colleagues repair the genitalia of roughly 300 baby boys every year - about double what they did when he started his practice 30 years ago.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news