Annual Medical Costs of 327 Trillion Won... The Plastic Backlash That Even Swallowed the United States

"Shows How Threatening Plastic Environmental Hormones Are"

A study has found that in the United States, medical costs amounting to $249 billion (approximately 327 trillion KRW) were incurred in 2018 due to chemicals contained in plastics.

On the 11th (local time), CNN in the U.S. reported research results showing that plastic chemicals causing hormonal imbalances have led to billions of dollars in healthcare expenses in the United States. Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a professor of pediatrics and population health at NYU Langone Health and the lead author of the study, stated, "This study helps the public understand how threatening the proportion of plastics is among endocrine-disrupting chemicals (environmental hormones)."

Dr. Trasande said, "We are talking about cancer, brain damage in young children, obesity and diabetes, heart disease, and premature death in adults," adding, "The U.S. continues to produce and consume plastics but does not consider the related costs to its own population."

[Image source=Pixabay]

Bethany Carney Almroth, a professor of environmental science and ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, commented on the study, saying, "The economic burden can be a powerful tool for consumers and policymakers alike to understand the importance of regulating environmental hormones."

Jane Muncke, Executive Director of the non-profit Food Packaging Forum in Zurich, Switzerland, expressed hope that this study would initiate social discussions about the use of plastics and health risks. Muncke stated, "Plastic chemicals are harmful due to their carcinogenicity and mutagenicity," and added, "I hope this study will serve not only as an estimate of cancer-related costs but also as a foundation for other research."

Study Finds 240,000 Microplastics Detected in 1ℓ Bottled Water

Meanwhile, shocking news recently emerged that about 240,000 microplastic particles were detected in bottled water. Researchers at Columbia University in the U.S. announced in a paper published on the 8th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that "in 1 liter of bottled water, 240,000 particles of seven types of plastics were found, of which 90% were nanoplastics." Although the issue of nanoplastics in bottled water had been pointed out before, it was only an estimate until now; this is the first case to identify what types of plastics and how many are contained.

The Columbia University research team said, "As a result of this study, participants have reduced their consumption of bottled water," adding, "It is still unknown how plastic particles affect cells and how dangerous they are."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.