INC-1 Health & Science Information Briefing
On Wednesday, November 30, at the Plastics Treaty INC-1 negotiations in Punta del Este, Uruguay, IPEN co-hosted a science and health information briefing on "Health, Chemicals, Plastics and a Non-Toxic Circular Economy." The briefing was co-hosted by the governments of Uruguay and Switzerland, and with the Endocrine Society, and included speakers on the science and health risks from chemicals in plastics followed by a panel discussion.
You can download the presentation slides from the event here.
Presenters on the Science and Health Risks
- Dr. Leonardo Trasande | Endocrine Society, Professor of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, United States
- Prof. Bethanie Carney Almroth | Professor in Ecotoxicology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Griffins Ochieng | IPEN Plastic Working Group Co-Chair, Kenya
Panel Discussion with:
- Dr. Amalia Laborde | Head, Centre in Human Environmental Toxicology (CIAT), Uruguay
- Amanda Finger | Scientific Officer, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
- Teeraporn Wiriwutikorn |Specialist on Waste & Hazardous Substance Management, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand
- Dr. Sam Adu-Kumi | National Focal Point, Chemicals & Waste MEAs, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana (TBC)
- Jacqueline Alvarez | Chief of the UNEP Economy Division’s Chemicals and Health Branch (TBC)
The information briefing helped inform delegates on several key issues that the INCs will address regarding the impacts to human health of hazardous chemicals in plastics, particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals, and how chemicals in plastics threaten the transition to circular economy approaches. Delegates from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America shared their perspectives on a non-toxic circular economy, and opportunities for a plastics treaty to address the health hazards of plastics and of their hazardous chemical ingredients throughout their life-cycle.
Multi Stakeholder Dialogue
IPEN Steering Committee member Yuyun Ismawati and Aileen Lucero of IPEN member group EcoWaste spoke at the Plastics Treaty INC-1 Multi Stakeholder Dialogue, sharing their perspectives on the health threats from plastics to communities in Indonesia and the Philippines.