Microplastics, including ‘forever chemicals’, are quietly causing a health crisis that is costing the US a quarter of a trillion dollars every year, a study claims.
These tiny plastics, found in virtually all brands of bottled water and most of the food we eat, have been linked to a host of chronic health problems, including cancer, hormonal imbalances, fertility problems and heart disease.
Researchers have not yet come up with a definitive number on how many people become ill as a result of exposure because the chemicals are now so ubiquitous and tracing the original exposure is extremely complex.
But some estimates say plastic-related diseases kill more than a million people worldwide every year.
The new study, by Researchers at New York University estimate that exposure to microplastics will increase in 2018 alone cost the US healthcare system $289 billion.
By comparison, the entire Covid pandemic is estimated to have spread around the same time $203 billion in healthcare costs.
PFAS, also called forever chemicals, lurk in tap water. They are a product of factory runoff and products that have water-repellent properties
Some of the diseases that long-term exposure to microplastics causes include gestational diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, fertility problems, liver disease and breast cancer.
The New York team arrived at this enormous figure using mathematical models.
They fed old estimates of health care costs associated with individual plastic, as well as newer estimates of the number of diseases caused by contamination.
The findings follow a scientific report showing that there are on average 240,000 plastic particles – the smallest microplastics – in a one-litre bottle of water.
Microplastics have also recently been found in 90 percent of American food, even in whole foods like chicken, fish and beef.
America began using small plastics in virtually every manufacturing industry in the 20th century – from food packaging to kitchenware and clothing.
They are defined as plastic particles measuring less than five millimeters, about the size of a sesame seed, but thousands are too small to see with the naked eye.
The chemicals enter the water system and food supply through stormwater runoff, fishing, freight and cruise ships, and the wear and tear of household products that contain water-repellent properties, such as nonstick cookware.
When small plastics enter the body, they can get stuck in tissues and enter the bloodstream. Once there, they cause widespread inflammation when the immune system recognizes it as a foreign invader.
This inflammation can lead to tissue damage and inflammation in crucial organs such as the liver and heart. Over time, microplastics accumulate in the body, causing damage so extensive that it becomes irreversible and potentially fatal.
The New York University researchers examined disease risks associated with some of the most common microplastics that can end up in water and food.
They include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), phthalates, bisphenols and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) based on published studies on the chemicals.
To estimate the costs associated with diseases linked to microplastics, the researchers first classified the use of different plastics in everyday plastic items, solvents, flame retardants and adhesives.
They then calculated the proportion of diseases and disabilities suggested to result from using products with these microplastics in them. These calculations are known as plastic-related fractions (PRFs).
Scientists then multiplied the base estimate of the PRFs by the estimates of disease burden and costs from published manuscripts and studies.
For example, they pointed to a previous study on bisphenol A, which estimated the total cost of BPA exposure at $1.04 billion. NYU researchers reasoned that about 98 percent of the BPA found is for use in connection with plastic.
They also assumed that BPA’s impact on health is directly proportional to the level of exposure to the chemical.
So by multiplying the burden of disease by a baseline estimate of costs, the researchers concluded that the health-related burden of addressing BPA-related diseases is almost $1.02 billion annually.
BPA is an “endocrine disruptor,” meaning it can imitate the body’s hormones and disrupt the production and response to natural hormones such as estrogen. It has also been linked to low sperm count and infertility in men, as well as breast and prostate cancer
In men, researchers looked at data from multiple animal and experimental studies and concluded that there was strong evidence of negative effects on men’s reproductive health and on exposure to EDCs.
Some effects in women of EDCs include early menopause, an increased risk of breast cancer, endometriosis, which can lead to infertility, and metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Some of the diseases that long-term exposure to microplastics causes include gestational diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, fertility problems, liver disease and breast cancer.
Treating these diseases imposes major costs on consumers, hospitals and insurance companies, amounting to billions of dollars per year, or roughly 1.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
In 2018 alone, the effects of the contaminants in Americans’ food and water contributed to at least $226 billion in healthcare costs.
The majority of these costs – $161 billion – were related to exposure to PBDEs.
About $67 billion in total spending was related to phthalate exposure, which has been linked to premature birth, reproductive disorders such as low sperm count and childhood obesity.
PFAS, meanwhile, has contributed to $22 billion in healthcare spending to address negative impacts, including certain cancers and kidney failure.
Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a physician at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and lead author of the study, said, “The diseases caused by plastics span the entire lifespan, from premature birth to obesity, heart disease and cancers,” which translates into mass life. -long expenditure on care.
Exposure to DEHP, which is known to be linked to obesity, diabetes and endometriosis in women, has caused costs of $1.95 billion. In particular, two phthalates, BBP and DBP, which are linked to male infertility, cost $3.14 billion.
The researchers argued that their findings are a rallying cry for a Global Plastics Treaty, an initiative years in the making to establish a framework for tackling plastic pollution and promoting the use of sustainable alternatives.
As they become more ubiquitous in our food and drinking water, microplastics are becoming more common in the environment, increasing the likelihood that they will enter the food and water supply.
There is evidence that some foods contaminated with compounds such as endocrine microplastics may increase the risk of chronic diseases.
Researchers recently discovered that foods laced with metals are linked to 6,000 cases of bladder and lung cancer. Arsenic in particular also contributed to 7,000 cases of skin cancer.
The amount of microplastics found at the bottom of the oceans has tripled in twenty years. Once microplastics end up on the seabed, they are no longer broken down due to a lack of erosion, oxygen or light.
Michael Belliveau, co-author and executive director of Defend Our Health based in Portland, Maine, said: ‘This study shows that preventing plastic pollution can reduce the incidence of disease, disability and premature death, and associated human suffering and health care costs. .
“Policymakers and industry leaders must detoxify and reduce the use of petrochemical plastics and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We urge negotiators to finalize a Global Plastics Treaty that limits and reduces plastic production and eliminates EDCs as plastic additives.”
Their research was published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.