|
PLASTICS AND YOUR HEALTH Ronald D. Weiss, MD Medical Director, The Doctor is In, 6701 Bergenline Avenue 201-758-9100 www.ilovemydoctor.org
Once upon a time, drinking a bottle of sparkling, clear spring water and tossing the empty container into the recycling bin was enough to make one feel pretty gosh darn good - both inside and out. But these days, things are more complicated. We have learned it takes a half bottle of oil to produce and transport every plastic bottle of spring water we drink. Not only that, the industrial process of producing plastics emits significant levels of carcinogens such as benzene, styrene and trichloroethane as well as sulfur and nitrous oxides –compounds that create acid rain and greenhouse gasses. And as if that weren’t bad enough, it now seems that the plastic sippy cup your two year old is drinking from is leaching hazardous chemicals into her milk.
This article will discuss the dangers that lurk in the plastic containers we eat and drink every day and how, as consumers, we can minimize our exposure to plastic toxins.
There are seven types of plastic resins from which our plastics are made and an identifying number, one through seven, is stamped on the bottom of the plastic container. Here is a summary of the seven types of plastic resins and their uses. It’s worth putting vanity aside and wearing your reading glasses:
#1 polyethylene
terephthalate (PET or PETE)
#2 high density
polyethylene (HDPE)/
#3 polyvinyl chloride (V or
PVC)
#4 low density polyethylene
(LDPE)
#5 polypropylene (PP)
#6 polystyrene (PS)
#7 other (misc.; usually
polycarbonate, or PC, but also polylactide, or PLA, plastics made from
renewable resources)
Although the use of all plastics can potentially pose health risks, some of these plastics are safer than others. Seek out the safer plastics when buying plastic items in the store:
Safer Plastics
#1 (PET), # 2 (HDPE), #4 (LDPE), # 5 (PP) - These plastics, at least when new, are not known to transmit any chemical molecules directly into food. However it is important to remember that any plastic that is heated or used again and again, degrades and may contaminate any food or drink in contact with it.
Polyactide (PLA) – polyactide is a “natural” plastic made from vegetable matter that has high starch content, such as corn, potatoes and sugar cane. Polyactide is a plastic that can not be recycled, however if composted, it takes about 2 weeks to decompose. Other plastics are not biodegradable and have an infinite lifetime.
Plastics to Avoid
#3 (PVC) – polyvinyl chloride is most frequently used in rolls of plastic wrap that we use to cover meats, cheeses and other prepared foods to keep them from spoiling. Vinyl chloride, the primary starting material used to make PVC, is a potent carcinogen which poses risks to the workers producing PVC in the factory. PVC contains phthalates which are softeners that make the plastic wrap flexible. Pthalates are known to interfere with hormonal pathways in animals and humans and when heat is applied to this compound in its manufacture or destruction, dioxin is produced, perhaps the most potent carcinogen known to mankind.
#6 (PS) – polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam in its extruded form, is made into cups and take out containers which are good at insulating hot food and drinks. The non extruded form of polystyrene is used in disposable cutlery, clear take out containers and disposable cups. Polystyrene is suspected of being a carcinogen and it easily leaches into food and drink, especially when the warm food and drink heats the polystyrene.
#6 (PC) – polycarbonate is used to make baby bottles, water cooler and five gallon water bottles, as well as the epoxy lining of tin cans. It is known to act as a hormone disrupter and is suspected of being a carcinogen.
It is important to remember that although #1, 2, 4 and 5 plastics are not known to have any immediate toxic effects on the consumer, they exert a very toxic effect on our environment through their manufacture, disposal and destruction. Their molecules and byproducts eventually end up in the fish, meat and dairy products we eat, and the tap water we drink. This is why I tell my patients to avoid all plastics whenever possible; If the cashier asks you “Paper or plastic?” Take paper. If you need to wrap those leftovers for the fridge, use aluminum foil, or better yet, put them in glass containers. When your toddler wants a drink, use stainless steel instead of a plastic cup.
Lastly, If you still take some comfort in thinking, “ It’s ok if I use plastics as long as I throw them into the recycling bin, “ you should know that less than 7% of all the plastics we use end of being recycled. The rest end up being dumped. Some of it may even end up in the North Pacific Ocean, where currents have swept together a floating island of plastic refuse as large as the State of Texas. The size of this massive garbage dump has doubled in less than five years.
The Doctor is In, open 7 days a week, is located on 6701 Bergenline Avenue in West New York, New Jersey. It serves as an alternative to the Emergency Room with walk-in care, as well as full service internal and pediatric medicine, obgyn and multi-speciality. All doctors are board certified, many Ivy League trained and three have been included on the best doctors list of New York magazine. The medical director, Dr. Weiss, is on staff at Palisades Hospital and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.
|