Maybe we'll really start to worry when the list hits 10,000
By NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
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“We found as many as 9936 different chemicals in a single
plastic product used as food packaging,” said Martin Wagner, a professor at the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU’s) Department of Biology.
Wagner has been working with chemicals in plastic
products for several years. He is part of a research group at NTNU that has now
published its findings in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.
PhD candidates Molly McPartland and Sarah Stevens from NTNU are the lead
authors of both studies.
Interfering with hormones and metabolism
In one study, the researchers looked at 36 different
plastic products that are used to package food. These products came from five
countries; the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, and
Norway.
“In most of these plastic products, we found chemicals
that can affect the secretion of hormones and metabolism,” Wagner said.
These functions are absolutely vital. Hormones are the
body’s messengers. They are secreted from various different glands and enable
the different organs to communicate with each other. Metabolism is sum of the
various processes that enable the body to use nutrients to provide the body
with energy and substances it needs to function.
Affects body signals
In the second study, researchers looked at different
combinations of plastic chemicals to see the possible effect they have on
G-protein-coupled receptors. These receptors play an important role in the
transmission of signals in the body.
“We identified 11 chemical combinations from plastic
products that affect these signal receptors,” says Associate Professor Wagner.
The researchers have found new ways in which these
chemical mixtures can affect the transmission of signals in the body.
Absorbed by the body
“These and previous findings show that plastic exposes us
to toxic chemicals. They support the theory that we need to redesign plastic to
make it safer,” Wagner said.
Previously, it was uncertain whether the chemicals could
be released into the environment under normal conditions, or whether they
remain bound in the plastic. However, a few years ago, another research group
proved that most plastic products leach chemicals when submerged in water.
Wagner was also part of this research group. During the
study, they found chemicals that can affect fertility in humans.
Because plastic contains so many different chemicals,
researchers still can only identify a few of them at a time. This means we
still know very little about the effects that most of these chemicals have.
References:
“Plastic Food Packaging from Five Countries Contains
Endocrine- and Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals” by Sarah Stevens, Molly
McPartland, Zdenka Bartosova, Hanna Sofie Skåland, Johannes Völker and Martin
Wagner, 5 March 2024, Environmental Science &
Technology.
DOI:
10.1021/acs.est.3c08250
“Beyond the Nucleus: Plastic Chemicals Activate G
Protein-Coupled Receptors” by Molly McPartland, Sarah Stevens, Zdenka
Bartosova, Ingrid Gisnås Vardeberg, Johannes Völker and Martin Wagner, 5 March
2024, Environmental Science & Technology.
DOI:
10.1021/acs.est.3c08392
The study was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.