There is a trio of chemical substances that are very present in household items that we use on a daily basis. It can affect health more than we realize.
An international team of researchers brought together the results of more than 1,700 existing studies in 38 different countries that investigated the links between exposure of people to chemicals and certain impacts on health, explains to.
The researchers, who published the in PNAS on December 16, argue that the results are worrying enough to justify global action.
The trio formed by BPA (bisphenol A), DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) — has already been associated with serious health problems.
The new study revealed that 5.4 million cases of ischemic heart disease and 346,000 cases of AVC in 2015 may be associated with exposure to BPA. This suggests that BPA exposure may be associated with 431,000 deaths.
PBDEs also have worrying effectsparticularly with regard to IQ — maternal exposure to this substance can even reduce intelligence.
An estimate of the economic impact total suggests that the resulting health loss could have cost nations the equivalent of 1 billion dollars (almost 1 billion euros) in purchasing power.
“Our reason for quantifying these health effects was focus on the harm associated with three of the best-studied chemicals in plastics and estimate exposures in as many countries as possible”, says Maureen Cropper, economist at the University of Maryland.
But statistician Kevin McConway urges caution in interpreting this data: “I’m not trying to say that these plastics can’t pose important health risks, just that this research can’t clearly establish theto what extent they cause more health problems and higher mortality rates”, he says.
But the team disagrees. “Protecting human health against the dangers of chemicals present in plastics will require a paradigm shift in legislation legislation on chemicals in several countries, including the United States, Canada and the EU,” the researchers write.
“It will take a more preventative approach that prioritizes the protection of human health and stops assuming that chemicals are safe”, they conclude.
