Plastic chemicals and microplastic exposures must be reduced to protect children’s brains

The following is a guest blog from Project TENDR.

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Action is urgently needed to safeguard children’s developing brains from microplastics and plastic-related chemicals say scientists and health professionals from across the U.S. who are part of Project TENDR, a coalition working to protect children from toxic chemicals that can contribute to problems with learning, attention, and behavior.

The scientific consensus statement, published recently in Environment International, outlines increasing evidence of harm from microplastics, phthalates, flame retardants, and bisphenols, and recommendations to reduce the production, use, and toxicity of plastics.

“We are seeing a disturbing trend of an increase in plastic contamination in babies,” said lead author Carmen Marsit, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in chemicals in placentas at Emory University. “Once children are exposed, chemicals from plastics and the particles themselves can enter cells and disrupt placental and metabolic functions that can impact fetal growth, brain growth, learning, and memory.”

Plastics and chemicals in plastics linked to neurodevelopmental harm

One in six children in the U.S. are diagnosed with developmental conditions, including ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities, with children living in poverty and children of color most affected. The Project TENDR authors state there is “strong evidence that toxic chemicals in plastics can contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders while emerging evidence suggests microplastic particles themselves may harm brain development.”

More than 90% of 2- to 5-year-olds in the U.S. have multiple neurotoxic plastic chemicals in their bodies, including newer “replacement” plasticizers, and children under the age of three have a higher level of neurotoxic plasticizers in their bodies than all other age groups.

“We can measure the impact of plastics chemicals on attention and learning in babies as young as four months old,” said co-author Susan Schantz, PhD, who heads an NIH-funded children’s health research center at University of Illinois, “The harm from plastics-related exposures starts very early and continues to affect children into adolescence.”

Microplastics and plastic chemicals leach from plastic packaging, carpets, flooring, electronics, water bottles, and other products, and get into people’s bodies through food, drinking water, air, household dust, and touch. They pass through the placenta during pregnancy and enter the fetus prior to birth. 

Dramatic growth in plastic production and plastic pollution despite health risks

Global plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019 and plastic waste more than doubled during the same period. The U.S. generates more plastic waste per capita than any other country.

“The time to act on plastics is now,” said Pamela Miller, co-author and director of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics. “And the upcoming negotiations for the global plastics treaty later this month is a perfect opportunity to make real progress to protect children from plastic harms.”

Protecting people from the proliferation and toxicity of plastics

The authors recommend immediate steps governments and companies can take to reduce plastic production, use, and exposure that include:

• Limit or eliminate single-use plastics, starting with packaging
• Ban intentionally added nanoplastics and microplastics in all products
• Ban neurotoxic chemicals in products, starting with food contact materials
• Phase out the most toxic plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene
• Set government standards to eliminate microplastics from drinking water
• Ban plastic incineration and other forms of toxic “recycling”
• Require public disclosure of all chemicals used in plastic materials
• Add microplastics to the U.S. national biomonitoring program (NHANES)

“This urgent public health crisis demands immediate and decisive actions to safeguard children’s developing brains and bodies and shield future generations from the devastating impacts of plastics,” the scientists say in “Protecting the Developing Brains of Children from Plastics-Derived Chemicals and Microplastic Particles.”

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Project TENDR is an alliance of more than 50 leading scientists, health professionals, and advocates working to protect children from toxic chemicals that harm brain development.

Authors:
Carmen J. Marsit, PhD, Emory University
Deborah H. Bennett, PhD, UC Davis
Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, ATS, Duke University
Charlotte Brody, RN, Healthy Babies Bright Futures
Brenda Eskenazi, PhD, UC, Berkeley
Eve Gartner, JD, Earthjustice
Irva Hertz-Picciotto, PhD, MPH, UC Davis
Deborah Hirtz, MD, University of Vermont
Pamela Miller, MS, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, International Pollutants Elimination Network
Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD, Columbia University
Susan L. Schantz, PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Maureen Swanson, MPA, Project TENDR
Tanya Khemet Taiwo, CPM, MPH, PhD, Skyline Foundation
Beate Ritz, MD, PhD, UCLA