For A Global Health No More Plastic – A Better Future A Better Live
REINHA.com – Based on reports from CIEL (Center For International Environmental Law) Plastic and Health, we knew that plastic has a harmful effect on humans and until now many of us are poorly understood about it.
The use of plastic as a substitute for traditional materials, and as the basis for new categories of materials, has grown exponentially since the end of World War II, when plastic producers sought a new consumer markets for materials made and production facilities built to support the war effort.
(Read more: 10 Healthy Tips For Hypertension Patients For A Better Live)
A recent analysis of all plastic ever made estimates that the global production of plastic has increased from 2 million metric tons (Mt) in 1950 to 380 million Mt in 2015. By the end of 2015, 8,300 million of Mt of virgin plastic had been produced. Significantly, roughly two-thirds of all plastic ever produced has been released in to the environment and remains there in some form as debris in the oceans, as micro-or nanoparticles in air and agricultural soils, as microfibers in water supplies, or as microparticles in the human body.
(Read more: Just To Know – The Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention Of Heat Stroke)
When the World War II ended, plastic has been produced from a mix of oil, gas, and to a lesser extent coal, depending largely on the availability and cost of key feedstocks. The chain and lifecycle of plastic impacted human health, and risk of human health :
- Air pollution. Research show that oil and gas development creates air pollution, including during production, processing, transmission and storage – when inhaled, these can lead to cardiovascular disease and respiratory conditions, such as shortness of breath, pulmonary inflamation, and aggravation of asthma symptoms.
- Ozone. Air pollution also impacts the health of communities living farther from oil and gas facilities. Chronic exposure to ground-level ozone can impair lung function and lead to asthma an chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is particularly damaging to children, active young adults who spend time outdoors, people with existing respiratory conditions, and the elderly.
- Frontline Community Impacts
Harmful pollutants emitted from oil and gas operations can impact the respiratory, circulatory, reproductive, immune, neurological, and digestive systems, in addition to the skin and eyes. - Mental Health and Human Rights
Although the impacts from oil and gas extraction, transport, and storage on mental health are one of the most underrepresented research areas, studies have found communities living near oil and gas extraction are susceptible to psychological impacts leading to stress, trauma, and powerlessness. - Risks to Children, Infants, and Pregnant Women
Studies show that the health risks of vulnerable populations such as children, infants, and pregnant women are particularly high in regions with expansive oil and gas production. Oil and gas drilling and fracking operations use and emit chemicals that are known to disrupt the endocrine system, the collection of glands that produces hormones and regulates everything from hunger to reproduction and influences nearly every cell, organ, and metabolic function. Studies in Pennsylvania have found that infants of mothers living near fracking sites have a 40 percent increase risk of preterm birth, and poorer indicators of infant health, and significantly lower birth weights. Colorado-based studies have found higher prevalence of birth defects of the brain, spine, and spinal cord and congenital heart defects, and higher rates of leukemia in children and young adults living in dense oil and gas production areas. - Water. Harmful chemicals used in fracking can enter drinking water resources—from spills, improper handling of wastewater, or faulty infrastructure— and lead to negative impacts on human health. Forty of 58 peer-reviewed studies of water quality near oil and gas production sites (69 percent) show evidence of water contamination associated with oil and gas production.
Four of the six pollutants examined are related to plastic production such as 1,3 butadiene, benzene, styrene, and toluene. Many of these chemicals, as well as others released through the production of plastic, pose an especially serious threat to human health because they have a variety of impacts, including cancer, and can be difficult to detect, as some are colorless and tend to have mild to no odor.
Whether plastic is only used once or is used for years, plastic use in consumer goods can have negative impacts on human health. Many of the chemicals used in food packaging are also used in a wide array of other consumer products. Most of people are exposed without their knowledge or consent because chemicals in plastic and packaging do not appear on ingredient list.
Strugling to manage the ever increasing amount of plastic waste, some cities and governments, influenced by a strong lobby of waste management corporotions, are turning to waste incineration. The toxins from emisions, fly ash and bottom ash in the burn pile can travel long distances and deposit on soil and water, eventually entering human bodies after being accumulated in the tissues of plants and animals in the food chain.
Human civilization is facing a growing burden of plastic pollution. There are many sources of plastic in the environment, including industrial and agricultural waste, particulates from car tire wear, dust, landfill, waste water, and deliberate littering. Plastic disperses reading throughout marine, fresh water, and terresitial environments into air, soils, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Not only is insightly, but it also could have grave negative consequences for global ecosystems and human health.
# For A Global Health No More Plastic – A Better Future A Better Live
