Black Plastic in Kitchen Utensils, Toys, Food Containers Linked to Banned Toxic Flame Retardants
Last edited Sun Oct 13, 2024, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)
Black-colored plastic used for kitchen utensils and toys linked to banned toxic flame retardants, CNN, Oct. 1, 2024. Ed. 🧯
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Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching from electronic products during recycling, a new study found. “A product with one of the highest levels of flame retardants were black plastic pirate coin beads that kids wear-they resemble Mardi Gras beads but more for costume wear,” said lead study author Megan Liu.
“That particular product had up to 22,800 parts per million of total flame retardants- that’s almost 3% by weight,” Liu said. “Kids will often play with toys multiple days in a row until they tire of them.” The most hazardous flame retardants the study found in consumer products are the same used in electronic enclosures on televisions and other electronics, Liu said.
“It appears the plastics used to make the consumer products were contaminated with flame retardants due to mistakes in the recycling of electronic waste,” she said.
One consumer product, a black plastic sushi tray, contained 11,900 parts per million of the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether, or decaBDE for short. That chemical is a member of the polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE, class of flame retardants. People with the highest blood levels of PBDEs were approximately 300% more likely to die from cancer as people with the lowest levels, according to an April 2024 study.
DecaBDE was fully banned in 2021 by the US EPA after being linked to cancer, endocrine and thyroid issues, fetal and child development and neurobehavioral function and reproductive and immune system toxicity. Despite those restrictions, decaBDE was found in 70% of the samples tested, at levels ranging from 5 to 1,200 times greater than the European Union’s limit of 10 parts per million, Liu said...
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/health/flame-retardant-black-plastic-wellness
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- Phthalates and Their Impacts on Human Health, NIH, 2021
Phthalates are a series of widely used chemicals that demonstrate to be endocrine disruptors and are detrimental to human health.
Phthalates can be found in most products that have contact with plastics during producing, packaging, or delivering.
Despite the short half-lives in tissues, chronic exposure to phthalates will adversely influence the endocrine system and functioning of multiple organs, which has negative long-term impacts on the success of pregnancy, child growth and development, and reproductive systems in both young children and adolescents.
Several countries have established restrictions and regulations on some types of phthalates; however, we think that more countries should establish constraints or substitute measures for phthalates to reduce health risks. This article aims to summarize the adverse impacts of phthalates on human health, analyze the toxicity mechanism, assess the risks, and finally provide feasible strategies to reduce exposure of the public to phthalates. - Keywords: risk assessment, endocrine disruptors, plastics, health impact, child growth
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8157593/
EWG, Environmental Working Group
https://www.ewg.org/areas-focus/toxic-chemicals/phthalates
= new reply since forum marked as read
for corporate America to experiment upon, for profits.
What a country.
As for the black utensils — I used to have nonstick cookware, and they were necessary but kept becoming cruddy. I gave up on all the nonstick stuff at some point, but still have some of the utensils around.
