Effects of Plastics on Human Health

Anil KerkarF

Plastic is one of the best gift to mankind. You cannot deny the fact that plastic has made our life very comfortable. Unfortunately we all lack the ability to manage the plastic waste.

Sometimes you will be surprised to see even educated people that includes engineers, advocates and hold your breath some doctors also don’t hesitate to drink their tea in the plastic cups. That too when the message is “eatables stored in plastic containers if consumed regularly can cause cancer”.

The number of cases of people dying of cancer has increased many folds in our country. Presently the figure is 6,00,000 deaths/ per year because of cancer in 2017 which was 3,50,000 deaths about 4 years back.

Doctors, environmentalists and anti-plastic activists when contacted they explain in detail how and why taking tea in plastic cups regularly can cause cancer. There are three harmful chemicals used for manufacture of plastic, namely, Sterin, BPA and Thylate.

All these 3 chemical compounds are carcinogenic. When hot fluid or semi fluid eatables is poured into the plastic containers there is immediate dissociation of the chemicals mentioned above which get mixed in the food items and enter our bodies when consumed.

May be that explains the reason why the number of deaths by cancer has gone to 6,00,000 /year in India alone. You go to Railway Station, bus stand etc., people are served tea/ coffee (hot) in plastic cups and the drivers, sweepers, hamals and even sometimes affluent class people take tea in plastic cups on regular basis.

Studies conducted about a few years back reveal that children consuming food item on regular basis wrapped in plastics reach their puberty at an early age.

Even the kids whom we send to KG and primary schools with plastic bottles and if they all keep the water bottles in one corner/ place as instructed by their teacher and by chance if the sun’s rays are falling on the bottle for one or two hours then this slightly heated water stands the chance of containing above mentioned harmful chemicals.

We see there are so many seminars and talks conducted by school, colleges, voluntary organisations etc., to make awareness about plastic garbage and to get rid of plastics safely.

But the people who sell tea in plastic cups and other uneducated people just collect the plastic and make its use for fire. It is definitely not their fault because they are unaware of the ill-effects of the fumes.

I am surprised that some hi-fi organisations after their event/ programme the plastic garbage generated is left to the sweeper to take care of who just pushes it into the fire