Plastics have become deeply integrated into human society and the economy but are polluting the environment. Plastic-associated chemicals enter the human body, and there are also reports of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human organs^1,2. There is already a considerable and robust body of evidence on the adverse health impacts of plastic-associated chemicals³, including those in MNPs, and therefore an urgent public health need to develop and implement comprehensive global measures to protect public and planetary health from plastics. Important policy recommendations grounded in this existing knowledge have recently been formulated^2,4. If adopted, such policies will see, for example, the elimination of hazardous plastic-associated chemicals, banning of MNPs in personal care products, and increased production and use of sustainable plastic materials with reduced chemical complexity, resulting in greatly improved human and environmental health.

Plastics are composed of a polymer backbone compounded with chemical additives such as plasticizers, flame retardants, stabilizers and colorants, as well as a complex and poorly understood array of non-intentionally added substances. Most of these chemicals are not covalently bound to the polymer matrix and hence are able to leach from plastics, including during intended use of the product and from MNPs². Exposure to plastic-associated chemicals occurs throughout an individual's lifespan, starting before conception, and these chemicals are consistently detected in human biosamples during pregnancy, at birth, in children and in adults^1,2,3. A recent report revealed that there are over 16,000 plastic-associated chemicals, of which 6,300 have high exposure potential, including more than 1,500 that are known to leach from plastics⁴. Although extensive data exist on the negative health impacts of certain plastic-associated chemicals and chemical groups¹, a staggering 66% of plastic-associated chemicals do not have available hazard data, and of those that do, more than 4,200 (around 75%) are already known to be hazardous to human and/or environmental health⁴. For example, phthalates and bisphenol A are known endocrine disruptors and have been associated with multiple health impacts at current levels of exposure in the general population, including type 2 diabetes in adults and developmental changes in newborns^1,2,3.

塑料已经深度融入人类社会和经济，但正在污染环境。塑料相关化学物质进入人体，也有报道称人体器官中存在微塑料和纳米塑料 （MNP）^1,2。已经有大量有力的证据证明塑料相关化学品³ 对健康的不利影响，包括塑料相关化学品中的塑料相关化学品，因此迫切需要公共卫生部门制定和实施全面的全球措施，以保护公众和地球健康免受塑料的影响。基于这些现有知识的重要政策建议最近被制定出来^2,4。例如，如果获得通过，这些政策将消除危险的塑料相关化学品，禁止在个人护理产品中使用 MNP，以及增加可持续塑料材料的生产和使用，降低化学复杂性，从而大大改善人类和环境健康。

塑料由聚合物主链与化学添加剂（如增塑剂、阻燃剂、稳定剂和着色剂）以及一系列复杂且知之甚少的非有意添加物质组成。这些化学品中的大多数不与聚合物基质共价结合，因此能够从塑料中浸出，包括在产品的预期用途期间和 MNP²。从受孕前开始，塑料相关化学物质的暴露发生在个体的整个生命周期中，并且在怀孕、出生、儿童和成人的人体生物样本中始终检测到这些化学物质^1,2,3。最近的一份报告显示，有超过 16,000 种塑料相关化学品，其中 6,300 种具有高暴露潜力，其中包括 1,500 多种已知会从塑料中浸出^{的化学品 4}。尽管存在关于某些塑料相关化学品和化学组对健康的负面影响的大量数据¹，但令人震惊的是，66% 的塑料相关化学品没有可用的危害数据，而在那些有的化学品中，超过 4,200 种（约 75%）已知对人类和/或环境健康有害⁴.例如，邻苯二甲酸盐和双酚 A 是已知的内分泌干扰物，在当前普通人群的暴露水平下，与多种健康影响有关，包括成人 2 型糖尿病和新生儿的发育变化^1,2,3。