Plastic Chemicals Have A $340 Billion Price Tag

Plastic chemicals seem to affect a large number of Americans every year, while they also come at a high price: $340 billion.

These chemicals can be found in household items such as flame retardants, pesticides, detergents, tin cans, cosmetics, and plastic bottles just to name a few. People exposed to these dangerous chemicals receive from the United States government more than $340 billion which are spent on treatments.

Such a tremendous amount of money is twice as high as the $163 billion spent by the European Union. To address this issue, the EU has adopted new regulations that reduce people’s exposure to these chemical disruptors.

A group of experts from the Langone Medical Center has conducted a study to find out the effects of these chemicals. Based on their findings, these chemical disruptors attack hormones, leading to development abnormalities, reproductive disorders, and neurological dysfunctionalities.

According to researcher Leonardo Trasande, his team analyzed urine and blood samples from many patients who took part in a national examination survey. This analysis revealed that all patients had endocrine disruptors in their bodies.

Then, they calculated the total costs of direct and indirect treatment as well as lost earnings. It turned out that United States spent $340 billion every year. It is worth mentioning that just five percent of all known endocrine disruptors have been measured in the study, while the costs of emotional welfare such as human suffering have not been taken into account.

Since 2008, these chemicals have been restricted by the UE, whereas they affected around 43,000 Americans leading to developmental disabilities. Based on the study findings, EDC exposure contributes to dysfunction and disease across the United States, leading to annual costs of over two percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Such a high discrepancy between the U.S. and Europe underlines that public healthcare policies must improve as American citizens should have access to chemical disruption screening of the endocrine system.

By limiting the exposure, they can prevent these chemicals from causing any harm. Experts strongly recommend people to eat organic food, avoid dishwashing in plastic containers, microwaving, canned goods, and pesticide use.  Any plastic household items might contain chemicals potentially dangerous for your health.

Image Source: Wikipedia