Dangerous chemicals from e-waste found in everyday black plastics, study finds
Everyday household items, such as children's toys and kitchen utensils, made with black plastics recycled from electronic waste have been found to contain high levels of toxic chemicals – and those items are being sold to unsuspecting US consumers, a new study warn
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Everyday household items made with black plastics recycled from electronic waste have been found to contain high levels of toxic chemicals – and those items, including children's toys and kitchen utensils, are being sold to unsuspecting US consumers, a new study warns.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the October issue of the Chemosphere scientific journal, was led by the US environmental health non-profit Toxic-Free Future and the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment.
In the first-ever testing of its kind, researchers found “high levels of cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting flame retardant chemicals in a variety of household products made with black plastics.”
Nearly 85% of the items tested – including food service ware, kitchen utensils, toys, hair accessories, costume beads, travel games, sushi trays, and even spatulas – were found to contain the retardants, even though they do not require them.
This results in “potentially high and unnecessary exposure,” the stated.
Health concerns related to flame retardants (FRs) include carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity, it said.
🍣 Toxic chemicals in your #plastic take-out sushi tray?!
undefined Toxic-Free Future (@ToxFreeFuture) October 1, 2024
Our new peer-reviewed study found toxic flame retardants in black plastic household products including food containers, kitchen utensils, toys, and more.https://t.co/dZXGvWDnA6 pic.twitter.com/mr40l2aGzw
Most electronics and their plastic casings are manufactured using retardants to help protect products and devices from overheating, short-circuiting, and catching on fire.
The toxic chemicals are most likely entering plastic products through a back door via contaminated recycled plastic, “without the necessary transparency and restrictions to ensure safety,” Toxic-Free Future said.
Harmful levels 5-1200x greater than EU limits
The two most prevalent chemicals were identified as “brominated” flame retardants (BFRs) or “organophosphate” flame retardants (OPFRs), which are known to be used in high concentrations in electrical and electronic products.
The results showed out of over 200 products tested, 17 out of 20 products analyzed contained brominated and/or organophosphate flame retardants.
Another known and cancer-causing flame retardant known as deca-BDE was also found in 14 of the products tested “at levels between 5 to 1,200 times greater than the European Union’s limit of 10 mg/kg.”
Total concentrations of BFRs were found ranging “up to 22,800 ppm of chemicals, including the banned substance deca-BDEand its replacements, such as 2,4,6-tribromophenol, which was also recently detected in breast milk," the research said.
The “From e-waste to living space” study also screened for levels of plastic polymers, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, high-impact polystyrene, and polypropylene, also found to be significantly higher in black plastics.
Legal efforts to reduce toxic e-waste
Toxic-Free Future says the study highlights the consequences of the lack of transparency and restrictions on harmful chemicals used in plastics to manufacture electronics and televisions, leading to its dangerous widespread use and dissemination.
The organization notes that next month, the US will be attending negotiations in Busan, South Korea to discuss the Global Plastics Treaty, which covers the entire life cycle of plastic, from production to disposal.
Toxic-Free Future said it is urging the White House and individual state governments to ban poisonous plastics and harmful chemical additives as part of the Treaty so they won’t wake their way into consumer products sold in the US.
“The Biden administration must support a treaty that will end the use of the most harmful plastics and their toxic additives, even in recycled plastics,” said Megan Liu, study co-author and science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future.
“The solutions are clear. The health of women and children must be prioritized over the chemical industry profits. We need less poison plastic, more safer chemicals and materials, and an end to plastic ingredient secrecy," Liu said.
To solve this problem, we need strong state and federal laws to ban dangerous chemicals and #plastics.
undefined Toxic-Free Future (@ToxFreeFuture) October 1, 2024
🌎 Join us in telling the U.S. government to pass a strong Global Plastics Treaty by signing our petition today!https://t.co/D7zFEDzrnN
Some individual states have started to make headway in addressing the use of certain classes of flame retardants, the organization said.
This coming January 1st, a complete ban on halogenated or ‘organohalogen’ flame retardants (OFRs) covering the plastic housing for all indoor electronics takes effect in Washington state.
And starting this December in New York, all plastic enclosures for electronic displays, ie. computers and televisions, must be OFR-free.