The dangers of plastic

BAKELITE objects, the few that are still to be found, are considered antiques. Once upon a time they were in all our homes, and not surprisingly, since bakelite is a precursor to modern plastics, but considerably less dangerous to the human being.

The typical home was once a modern-plastics-free zone. However, cooking methods and eating styles have been revolutionised and have brought unimagined hazards.

With no home freezers and few domestic fridges until the 1960s and later, meals were prepared daily and the need for more modern materials for storage was slow in the coming.

Over time, the old-fashioned iron pots for stewed chicken, curries and pelau were almost entirely replaced by aluminium pots. Reduced production costs was probably a factor in the substitution, although aluminium is linked to Alzheimer’s and is known to leach harmful lead if the pot’s surface is damaged, as with iron pots.

According to a scientific investigation reported in Nature magazine, neurological problems among the young in certain communities where aluminium pots are widely used can be linked to toxic lead seeping into their food, affecting their behaviour, learning abilities and intelligence. In addition, low-level lead exposure can cause coronary illnesses.

As for enamel utensils, we now know enamel contains lead and when chipped is also bad for our health, and so most kitchens have lost those too.

The modern kitchen sports safe and durable stainless-steel kitchen tools and equipment of all sorts, but also non-stick pans, which are linked to cancers and are as, if not more, dangerous than their predecessors.

All that evolution, and the consumer has never been given full information. This has led to the establishment of independent watchdogs in most developed countries, quite apart from national licensing authorities.

In Trinidad and Tobago, and probably all over our region, we are very behind in our awareness about the dangers of modern materials and lack education in how to use them safely, especially plastics, which are so very ubiquitous.

The message has not yet landed that plastics should not be burned because they release toxic elements into the atmosphere. We know that they do not biodegrade and clog up our waterways, but not that they should be prevented from getting very hot so as not to release cancerous elements into the contents of plastic bottles, for example.

Thanks to the Internet and smartphones, some people have educated themselves about the dangers, but as a citizenry we are uninformed.

Also in the 1960s, vinyl and plastics radically changed lives. Money was saved by not replacing broken glass and rusting metal containers; kitchen utensils were easier to clean, as was the furniture. Shower curtains were a novelty and no more sewing up of cloth and leather car seats.

Plastics brought innovation, convenience and affordability into our lives and eventually crept into almost every item we use in and out of our homes, and we have welcomed that; but the tide is turning now that the extent of the encroachment and concomitant dangers are more evident.

I was surprised and dismayed to learn from a recent report from the Center for Environmental Health in the US that many popular brands of teabags contain plastic. Steeping plastic in near-boiling hot water releases one billion microplastic particles into your relaxing cup of tea. The report advises checking the box to rule out the use of plastics.

But we cannot check everything, and foods come in a wide variety of plastics. Prof Graham Peaslee, at the Notre Dame University, measured PFAS (synthetic chemicals) concentrations in olive oil, ketchup and mayonnaise that had been in contact with their fluorine-protected containers for seven days at various temperatures. Based on the amount found in the different food samples, the study estimates enough PFAS could be ingested through food stored in the containers to be a significant risk of exposure.

Another study published on the National Library of Medicine website (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), revealed that all the plastics sampled, regardless of product, retail source, or plastic resin used released oestrogenic chemicals (EAs). Even the samples that were BPA-free – the safe standard shoppers have been using – were not free of EAs.

These chemicals can cause early puberty in females, reduced sperm counts, altered reproductive system functions, obesity, altered sex-specific behaviours, plus increased rates of breast, ovarian, kidney, testicular and ovarian cancers. The leaching intensifies with microwaving, dishwashing and exposing plastics to UV radiation.

Ingesting plastic damages our health, but if, like me, you put your used teabags in the garden soil, you are contaminating that, too, and the food chain, since plants absorb chemicals in the soil.

There are many different sorts of plastic, as we know, and they all migrate in solid or liquid form and by air into food and water sources and have been linked to further health hazards, such as low birth weight, immunotoxicity and thyroid disease.

Research is ongoing, and it would be no surprise to learn that plastics contribute to other sudden inexplicable rises in other diseases that plague our societies.

Sadly, unlike bakelite, modern plastics will never disappear.