Those Most Vulnerable

In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) confronted the government with extensive evidence reporting the harmful effects of additives in plastic containers, packaging, and other products, on the health of our youth. As most already know, children are significantly at risk of obtaining acute or chronic health impediments because of the long developmental stage they undergo. Not only are they at higher risk, but they have higher exposure to harmful pollutants and chemicals by food and water intake due to greater dietary intake per pound than adults. Along those lines, pediatricians across the US implore the government, specifically the FDA, to have greater involvement in the regulation of additives that in the past were deemed as "safe," but with greater knowledge and research have been shown to cause negative health effects.

The AAP categorizes additives into two categories: direct and indirect food additives. As portrayed in the diagram below, indirect additives from contact materials such as plastics, have severe detrimental effects on the health of children. According to both the AAP and an article published by the Italian Journal of Pediatrics, additives in plastics, such as BPA, PFCs, perchlorates, and phthalates, have the ability to disrupt endocrine systems, provoke neurotoxicity (especially when heavy metals sorb to microplastics and accumulate in brain and muscle tissues), damage immune responses, harm metabolic processes, and possibly affect fetal reproductive development. Just last year multiple reports have shown evidence that microplastics can permeate and have been found inside the placenta. Additionally, the main type of material used in infant feeding bottles is polypropylene (PP) plastic. A study published in Nature presents evidence of the distribution of microplastics from bottles, which come in contact with the liquids infants drink. Making matters worse, researchers identified that normal sterilization techniques, like the ones recommended by the World Health Organization, increase the risk of releasing microplastics. They found that the global average daily consumption of PP microplastics by infants can be estimated up to amounts of 1,580,000 particles per day.

According to the CIEL, incineration facilities for plastic waste are most often located near low-income, minority areas, which become increasingly at risk of inhaling hazardous pollutants, including VOCs, PAHs, and sulfur dioxide, which have been linked to causes of cancer and other health conditions. Resulting in air pollution, creating a potentially toxic soil environment from the residual soot, contaminating groundwater, and altering the pH of exposed water sources, incinerating plastics is inherently dangerous, as an article published in ClinMed states. With the US burning 12.5% of its plastic waste as of 2019 to increase its energy reserves, it was reported that the US released 12 million tons of carbon dioxide by this process alone. Endangering lower incomes communities, without reaping the benefit of clean energy, burning plastics has displayed another form of environmental injustice.