Dangers of Plastic
The dangers of plastic and harmful effects and of to the environment are cannot be denied given that plastics constitute over a quarter of the waste in our landfills, and are – by definition – non-biodegradable.
But are you aware that the use of plastics, beside wrecking havoc on the environment out there, also poses potential harms to your very body?
As it turns out, many types of plastics continually leak out dangerous carcinogenic (cancer causing) compounds, whose long term exposure to makes us prone to one or other type of cancer. And not only that, but the fact that compounds used in making plastics have been implicated in causing hormonal disruptions, and can indirectly contribute to obesity.
Of course, the makers of the plastics fault these research findings – citing technicalities like the methodologies used in the research and such things. And while the veracity of the research might be doubted, no sane person can surely take risks with anything that might even remotely expose them to cancer, seeing the effects cancer has on the people who happen to fall victim to it. Granted, all plastics are not created equal as far as their potential for harm is concerned, and there are therefore some that you have to steer clear of if you want to keep out of harm’s way.
PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) for instance is one potentially dangerous plastic, yet a very widely used one. Dioxins, produced during the manufacture of PVC and then released slowly during its long term usage are established carcinogens. Now the problem with these dioxins is that once in the body, they tend to get into fatty tissue, which makes their elimination from the body extremely difficult. Yet we are exposed to PVC every corner we turn, as it is the type of plastic used in making commercial and residential plumbing, and by extension the plastic which carries the tap water we drink.
Then there is polystyrene, abbreviated PS and also referred to as Styrofoam. This is a compound you will encounter in disposable plastic cups, plates and so on. Styrene, which it contains in huge quantities predisposes the people exposed to it to hormonal disruptions and some cancers – and it is something you are best advised to steer away of, if you can – and especially as far as long term usage is in question.
Thankfully, there are some plastics whose use is not as potentially dangerous.
4 LPDE, for instance, is not known to leack – seeing that it is the leaking of the dangerous carcinogens that makes plastics unsafe. It is widely used in making beverage carriers.
2 HPDE is also rather safe to the body, and it is also environment friendly, as it is recyclable.
Polyethylene Terephthalate is known to leak, but luckily, the effects of its leaking are not as harrowing, but limited to things like gastrointestinal problems.
Then there are ‘natural’ plastics like polylactite (which is made from corn starch) and which apart from having no harmful effects on the body, is also rather safe to the environment, being a compound that is biodegradable in a couple of weeks at most.
So clearly, it is not that we have to do away with plastics. We just have to make smarter choices of them. The smarter choices of plastics might translate to higher costs, but it is a small price to pay for our health and the wellbeing of our environment.
