To solidify plastic products, producers use reinforcing substances such as bisphenol A (BPA). To make plastic soft and flexible, producers use plasticizers such as phthalates. To make furniture and electronics less flammable, fire retardants are added to plastic during production. Altogether there are thousands of plastic additives used that consumers come into contact with on a daily basis. Some of these substances are harmful to health and are found in human urine and blood as a result of exposure.
BPA and Endocrine-disrupting chemicals Bisphenol A (BPA) used in plastic and plasticizers are strongly suspected of disrupting our hormone balance. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is associated with around 80 diseases, including testicular cancer, obesity, and reproductive disorders. Unborn and young children are particularly vulnerable because their hormone system is still in development.
As early as 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the world about the possible carcinogenic properties of endocrine disruptors such as in its report State of the science of endocrine-disrupting chemicals; it concluded that these substances are a global threat to public health.
Unfortunately, where BPA and other harmful additives are already banned, alternatives are used. It is feared that these alternative additives are just as (if not more) harmful to health because they belong to the same chemical group. There is a compelling need for an international approach. In 2018, Wemos, an independent civil society organization that aims to improve public health worldwide, presented a National Plan (in Dutch) to protect the Dutch population and future generations against large-scale exposure to and health effects from endocrine disruptive chemicals.
