What I Learned When I Was Tested for Plastic Chemicals

Maybe I’d like to think of my body as something made of bone, blood, tissue, and water, but as I recently learned, it’s also made of plastic—home to an alarming amount of plastic toxins known as bisphenols. Mainly used to manufacture hard and durable plastics– like water bottles and take-out containers – bisphenols are often found in the company of phthalates, which are used to make more flexible plastics such as raincoat liners, vinyl boots and duct tape. Both types of chemicals are known to be hormone disruptors, leading to numerous health problems, Including precocious puberty, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and changes in liver function, as well as an increased risk of certain types of cancerparticularly skin, breast, liver and testicles.

I learned about my plastic load thanks to Million marker, a company that offers a simple mail-in urine test that measures the sample’s concentration of both types of chemicals. The news was reasonably good when it came to phthalates: I’m below the 20th percentile in the minor, low-molecular-weight forms of the chemical category, and just above the 50th percentile for the high-molecular-weight form. I can live with that. But as for bisphenols, I was literally out of the picture – in the 100th percentile –for bisphenol A (BPA) one of the most common forms of the chemical. I was in the safest 20th percentile for bisphenol S (BPS)another common form.

If there was any consolation, it’s that I’m not remotely alone. “BPA in particular, as well as phthalates, are found in more than 90% of individuals tested,” says Jenna Hua, founder and CEO of Million Marker, who is also a nutritionist and environmental policy scientist. “People are getting these exposures day after day.”

see more information: All the Things in Your Home That Could Contain PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’

“If you have a sensitive enough test, you will find these chemicals in everyone,” adds Dr. Christos Symeonides, pediatrician and lead plastics researcher at the Minderoo Foundationan Australia-based non-profit philanthropy that helps support the work of Million Marker.

Findings from groups like Million Marker and Minderoo are especially relevant this month as the United Nations International Negotiating Committee meets in Ottawa, Canada, April 23-29, to draft provisions for an international agreement that would limit global plastic pollution. Negotiators will refine the regulations and guidelines reached in a draft agreement in 2022, with the aim of completing the work by the end of this year.

“These chemicals are everywhere,” says Symeonides. “They are in the atmosphere that surrounds us. Even in the laboratory, when you try to test them, you have to control for background contamination. They really are the canaries in the chemical coal mine.”

It’s no wonder we all have such a high concentration of bisphenols and phthalates in our bodies, as the substances are especially common in products that come into contact with our food – including plastic and lined cups, mugs and water bottles. plastic; microwaveable food containers; disposable straws and utensils; takeaway containers; plastic bags; and cans. They are also found in medicines, vitamins and other supplements – particularly in inactive ingredients such as time-release coatings and dyes. What doesn’t enter our body goes for our bodies – like fragrances, shampoos, makeup and other personal care products, which can be high in phthalates in particular. Cash register receipts also contain phthalates. And if the problem was severe before the pandemic, it has gotten worse since, as COVID-19 lockdowns have led to a surge in online ordering, meaning more exposure to takeout packaging and stickers on packaging tape, as well. such as plastic cardboard and inflatable plastic fillers in boxes.

“The combination of some of these very harmful chemicals has a synergistic effect,” says Hua. “We’re not exposed to just one of them at a time.”

My relatively low level of phthalates may, in part, be due to my gender. Other than soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and deodorant, I simply don’t use many personal hygiene products, something that is widely—though certainly not universally—true for men as a group.

“If you test women, they tend to have very high exposure because they use a lot of products,” says Hua.

But I’m a mess when it comes to BPAs. Almost every item on the BPA no-fly list is part of my everyday life. I still use plastic straws; I eat all kinds of takeout food in all kinds of plastic containers; and I destroy leftovers and prepared foods in (supposedly) microwaveable containers without much thought. This is all about ease and convenience; none of this is about health and safety. And there’s no easy way out except some smart lifestyle changes.

“You can start looking for BPA-free products,” says Hua. “But what was in them is probably being replaced by BPS.”

For the public and even some environmental scientists, the temptation is to compare phthalates and bisphenols with PFAS – short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – another ubiquitously manufactured chemical that messes with the hormonal system. PFAS are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because that is how long they remain in the blood and the environment. However, in the body, the vast majority of phthalates and bisphenols are eliminated quickly, mainly through the urinary system and also through sweat, in just 24 hours.

see more information: The dirty secret of alternative plastics

“The liver attaches an extra molecule to BPA in a process called conjugation,” says Symeonides. “This makes it soluble, which is why it is excreted so well.” Phthalates begin to break down in the intestine and are further processed by the liver.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that as soon as you get rid of one day’s exposure, you recontaminate it the next day. Still, that daily clean slate makes phthalates and bisphenols actionable, says Hua. There is a series of ways limit your exposure to chemicals – some of which I intend to adopt – including carrying groceries in cloth or brown paper bags; cooking food in the microwave in glass containers; limit the use of personal hygiene products and look for products free of BPA and phthalates; avoid products packaged in rigid plastic; eat fresh, home-prepared foods rather than processed or restaurant products; avoiding canned ingredients when cooking; and even ask cashiers for electronic rather than paper receipts.

In the US, the use of BPA and phthalates are already banned in some cases, through a 2008 federal law that prohibits the inclusion of eight especially dangerous types of phthalates in toys and other children’s products. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration also banned BPA in infant formula cans, sippy cups and baby bottles. Last year, three states – Washington, Michigan and Vermont –banned or proposed bans in both classes of chemicals in product packaging.

All of this is a far cry from significantly limiting – let alone eliminating – substances that are essentially everywhere, which is why the Ottawa conference is so important. O draft agreement would take a series of actions, Including require national and regional reporting on plastic pollution; institution of financial incentives to limit production waste and contamination; and propose end-to-end control of plastics, from production, at the beginning of the plastic’s life cycle, to disposal at the end.

“This is a huge opportunity for change,” says Symeonides. “Unless we establish rules at the regulatory level, we will not be able to reduce people’s exposure to these chemicals. Not everything depends on you. It depends on the regulators.”