Plastics cause wide-ranging health issues from cancer to birth defects, landmark study finds

Coalminers, oil workers and gas field workers who extract fossil carbon feedstocks for plastic production, along with plastic production workers, were at particular risk of harm, the report found.

Meanwhile, residents of communities adjacent to plastic production and waste disposal sites experience increased risks of premature birth, low birth weight, asthma, childhood leukaemia, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. The report referred to evidence that infants in the womb and young children were at particularly high risk.

The article recommends a global plastics treaty to control the manufacture and use of plastics, and to reduce the disproportionate health and environmental impacts of plastics on coastal and ocean-dependent communities and those working in high-risk industries. The authors wrote that any treaty should be in accord with the mandate set in March 2022 at the UN Environment Assembly.