Plastic Products May Contain More Than 4,200 Toxic Chemicals

Scientists who compiled a list of more than 16,000 chemicals used in plastic products found that over 4,000 of them may pose risks to human health and the environment.

Researchers spent a year reviewing scientific reports and classifying chemicals used in plastics according to their effects on health and the environment.

The team hopes the findings will help inform government regulations aimed at limiting plastic use, as well as international negotiations on the issue.

Researchers also said that more than 400 of the chemicals identified in the report are found across all major types of plastic products, including food packaging, and that all tested plastics were found to release chemicals that may be harmful to the environment.