Health  |  Policy  |  Plastics

This curated collection of resources on plastics and plastics-related chemicals, including impacts and solutions, will be regularly updated.

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HEALTH

U.S. health costs related to chemicals in plastics reached $250 billion in 2018

The Endocrine Society

Read this summary of a peer-reviewed journal article co-authored by Mike Belliveau with Dr. Leo Trasande, pediatrician and environmental health scientist at New York University.

More than 7 million Americans face serious cancer risks from exposure to plastics-related chemicals emitted by the chemical industry, with the health burden falling heaviest on Brown and Black people who live and breathe within six miles of a chemical plant. Mike Belliveau led comments on U.S. EPA’s draft air toxics rule in July 2023. (10-page comment)

POLICY

Bend the Curve Fact Sheet

Twelve U.S. states and more than 250 local governments have passed laws to phase out the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam in food service containers and in some packaging. (1 page factsheet)

New Solutions, Vol. 21

Mike Belliveau’s retrospective take, “The Drive for a Safer Chemical Policy in the United States,” published in New Solutions in 2011, won best paper of the year from the Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association. (28-page journal article)

PLASTICS

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used to make plastic beverage bottles and polyester clothing, and other textiles and packaging. Mike Belliveau co-authored two technical reports that mapped the hazards of PET polyester at every stage of its production.

Problem Plastic – How PET Polyester Can be Unsafe, Unjust, and Unsustainable Materials

Defend Our Health, July 2022

Hidden Hazards – The Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle

Defend Our Health, Beyond Petrochemicals, May 2023

Watch John Beard, Jr., Port Arthur Community Action Network, and Mike Belliveau Unpack the Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle

Webinar presented by Collaborative for Health & Environment, June 2023

Polystyrene (PS) plastic is used for food service, food packaging, and plastic cases. It’s blown into expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam for food containers, packaging, and more.

Bend the Curve STYRENE Issue Brief

Production of polystyrene plastic consumes 60% of all styrene and 30% of all benzene, two cancer-causing chemicals that pose serious health hazards to workers and communities. (2-page factsheet)

Silicone rubber is widely used in kitchen and bakeware, consumer products, and in various industrial applications.

Is Silicone Toxic? We Dove into the Latest Research to Find Out

By Alden Wicker, EcoCult, May 13, 2024