Wristbands reveal nearly everyone is exposed to chemicals from plastic

From water bottles and food wrappers to microplastic in the air, plastic and its chemical components are nearly impossible to avoid today. Researchers have now measured the extent to which people are exposed to these chemicals using an innovative approach: specially designed wristbands.

Researchers with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) gave the wristbands to 30 workers in Thailand from three different groups: recycling workers, plastic waste workers, and office workers. Each person wore the wristband, designed to absorb chemicals their skin has been exposed to, for five workdays, after which it was sent to an independent lab for analysis. The lab tested for 73 chemicals in six different chemical groups, including phthalates and bisphenols.

Lab tests found that all workers, despite their occupation, were exposed to at least 21 different chemicals. The waste and recycling workers had the most chemicals registered on their wristbands, as well as the highest concentrations of the chemicals.

In a related study, the IPEN researchers gave the wristbands to 12 international delegates currently meeting in Busan, South Korea, for the U.N. plastics summit. These delegates, from Asia, Latin America and Europe, are mostly office workers or university professors, with little obvious occupational exposure to plastic. Nonetheless, each delegate wristband registered at least 29 chemicals in all the six different categories.

IPEN science adviser Sara Broche told Mongabay by phone that very few chemicals are internationally regulated, so addressing the global plastic chemical problem will take a coordinated effort.

“That’s why we are hoping and encouraging governments at this plastics treaty negotiations to put in strong measures to address these chemicals because this is an opportunity do so,” she said.

See the full story in Mongabay.