Nine in ten seabirds have eaten plastic; 99% of species will by 2050
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) modelling of decades of seabird studies found plastic ingestion is global, pervasive and rising fast.
Global
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More than 16,000 chemicals are used in plastics, and a quarter are of concern
The PlastChem report found far more chemicals in plastics than regulators assumed, with over 4,200 hazardous and fewer than 6% regulated internationally.
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144 chemicals known to be hazardous are actively used in plastics
The Endocrine Society and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)’s guide catalogues the plastic additives linked to cancer, diabetes, infertility and developmental harm.
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Heart patients with plastic in their arteries had 4.5 times the risk of death or stroke
A NEJM study found microplastics in 58% of artery plaques, and those patients suffered far more heart attacks, strokes and deaths over three years.
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One plastic chemical linked to 356,000 heart-disease deaths a year
New York University (NYU) researchers estimate the plasticiser di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was linked to 13.5% of all cardiovascular deaths among 55–64-year-olds worldwide in 2018.
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Minderoo-Monaco Commission: plastics harm health at every stage of their life
The first full-lifecycle medical review found plastics cause disease from oil extraction through manufacturing, use and disposal.
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Lancet Countdown: plastics cost more than US$1.5 trillion a year in health damage
The Lancet’s new annual tracker calls plastics a grave, growing and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health.
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Indoor air delivers about 68,000 lung-penetrating plastic particles a day
French researchers found the air in homes and cars carries far more fine microplastic than earlier estimates, roughly 100 times higher.
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World Health Organization (WHO): microplastic exposure is real, evidence of harm in humans is still limited
The World Health Organization’s cautious 2022 review says people are exposed to plastic particles but data on health effects remain scarce.
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): the world used 460 million tonnes of plastic in 2019 and recycled 9%
The OECD’s Global Plastics Outlook is the most authoritative single dataset on the plastics economy, showing waste growing faster than recycling.