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Health

Plastic chemicals linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide

A review of chemical exposures across 38 countries finds common plastic products are linked to millions of cases of heart disease and thousands of strokes

By Grace Wade

16 December 2024

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Plastic food packaging can expose people to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA)

Shutterstock/Trong Nguyen

Hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of cases of heart disease worldwide may be linked to chemicals in common plastic products, suggesting that more stringent regulations on such toxins could benefit public health.

Maureen Cropper at the University of Maryland and her colleagues assessed the public health impact of exposure to three types of chemicals primarily used in plastics: bisphenol A (BPA), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). BPA and DEHP are found in plastic food packaging and PBDEs…

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