New Study: Alarming Levels of Plastic and Dangerous Associated Chemicals in Children's Bodies

Surfing on our waste (source)

by Thomas Neuburger

We recently wrote about the astonishing amount of microplastic — microscopic pieces of ordinary plastic, byproducts of the breakdown of the residue of our trash — in both our environment and our bodies (see "It's Raining Plastic, From the Pyrenees to the Rockies to the Arctic"). As we noted there, environmental microplastic so ubiquitous, it's even falling from the sky onto the ice floes of the Arctic.

A recent German study has more information, finding that plastics and associated products have been discovered "in 97-100% of blood and urine samples from 2,500 children tested between 2014 and 2017." That's an astonishingly high percentage.

The study also refutes the defense that the presence of plastics in human bodies is relatively harmless since plastic is inert. Even if the plastic is inert (there's no evidence that it is), some associated products that enter our bodies with it are decidedly dangerous.

From a Common Dreams piece on the study (translation from the German by the authors):

Der Spiegel, the German weekly magazine, published the findings Saturday, which were part of a federal study focused on "human biomonitoring" of 3 to 17-year-olds. Traces from 11 out of 15 plastic ingredients were found in the test samples.

"Our study clearly shows that plastic ingredients, which are rising in production, are also showing up more and more in the body. It is really worrying that the youngest children are most affected as the most sensitive group," Marike Kolossa-Gehring, one of the study's authors, told the magazine.

Researchers said that they were especially concerned about high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that were found in the study. PFOA is an extremely persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemical frequently used in non-stick cookware and in waterproof clothing.

In 20 percent of those examined, they were above the limit, in the younger children, the proportion was even higher. The study also showed children from poorer families had more plastic residue in their bodies than children from higher-income families, according to German public broadcaster ARD

While PFOA is not itself a plastic, it's used in the manufacture or treatment of a number of materials, like Teflon and carpeting, and despite claims to the contrary, it persists in those products:

A study of workers living near a DuPont Teflon plant found an association between PFOA exposure and two kinds of cancer as well as four other diseases. A positive exposure-response trend for kidney cancer is supported by many studies. PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population in the low and sub-parts per billion (ppb) range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. How general populations are exposed to PFOA is not completely understood. PFOA has been detected in industrial waste, stain-resistant carpets, carpet-cleaning liquids, house dust, microwave popcorn bags, water, food, some cookware and Teflon (PTFE) products. (emphasis added)

The study also notes an increase in exposure to substitutes for previously banned chemicals.

As Madge might have said in the famous commercials, "We're soaking in it."

We're also eating, breathing, drinking, swimming and drowning in it. Not a good sign. If those whom we let control us get their way, I fear it will be with us till it kills us.