Growing plastic use taking a toll on public health: Experts

depends on the levels of exposure, which are capable of harm if it is measurable,” adds Chandrasekaran.

The presence of these chemicals in the body could lead to obesity, abnormality in sex organs, early puberty, infertility, metabolic disorders, learni ng di s a bi l i t i e s , i mpaired immune function, altered nervous system function, diabetes, even certain types of cancer, and more.

“It is not possible to establish a direct link at the hospital- or clinical-level. We can’t say for sure that the patient with diabet es or any other endocrine abnormality got it because of plastic exposure. If we look at a broader level, these could be contributing factors,” Dr SV Madhu, head of the endocrinology department at the Delhi gove r n ment - r u n Gur u T e g h Bahadur Hospital, says.

More worrisome is use of plastic and its additives in baby products.

“Most baby products including toys, feeding bottles, teethers etc. are made of plastics. In children, the exposure is far more harmful because of their developing immune and other systems.

Chewing of plastic teethers and toys by children are linked with severe adverse health outcomes such as birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption, developmental delays etc,” says Neeti Rustagi, a s s i s t a nt prof e s s o r a t t he department of community medicine, AIIMS Jodhpur.

A s t udy by University of Exeter published in the BMJ Open Journal last year found measurable traces of BPA, a chemical compound used to make plastics, in the bodies of 86% of teenagers studied.

Dr Chandrasekaran says, “Glass, earthenware, wood is safer then steel for storage purposes, as steel has its own limitations. Reusable cloth bag can be used as carry bags.”

However, he added, that the real solution lies in generating awareness about the harms of single-use plastic. And it needs to be generated at the grassroots level as phasing out has to be voluntary.