Guernsey Press

Is plastic the new asbestos?

WHEN asbestos was first developed as a commercial product it was hailed as a wonder material. It is highly heat resistant and an excellent electrical insulator. It has been used for a multitude of purposes including the lagging of pipes to reduce heat loss, fireproofing, electrical insulation, building materials and even for making clothing and furniture.

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Although it was once considered a miracle substance, it was eventually realised that asbestos can release microscopic fibres, which are absorbed into the lungs. The jagged particles permanently damage cells in the lungs, causing not only serious breathing problems, but the development of a unique and dangerous form of cancer known as mesothelioma.

Today asbestos is widely known as a dangerous substance. From being widely adopted in the early to mid-20th century, the 1970s and 80s saw growing evidence of the dangers of asbestos, and the start of efforts to restrict its use. Even as the dangers began to emerge the asbestos industry kept advertising its qualities and casting doubt on the science showing its dangers. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that all forms of asbestos were banned in the UK, by which point it had claimed many thousands of lives.

More recently we have come to consider plastics to have almost miracle properties, and the things that we can produce from plastic are integral to our way of life. Its versatility and availability have led to us using it in myriad ways without giving the consequences a second thought. In many instances it has a very useful role to play, but we have become over-dependent on it and its use is growing exponentially and indiscriminately.

As with asbestos, worrying indications for our health are emerging. We have known for a long time that plastic takes thousands of years to break down, but only recently we have understood how damaging that is for the planet and potentially for our health.

Plastic only breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces – it does not actually ever go away. The tiniest particles, known as nano plastics, are so small that they can cross cellular membranes and actually work their way into our individual cells. They reach our bloodstreams and our organs. Concerningly, they reach mothers’ breast milk and are found in the placentas of unborn children, which raises the prospect that future generations will arrive already impregnated with plastic particles in their bodies.

Could it be that, as with the tiny particles of asbestos reaching human lungs, these nano plastics will cause harm to human health?

In laboratory tests, it has been shown that human immune cells which are exposed to microplastics die three times more quickly that those which are not so exposed. It is certainly uncomfortable to learn that our immune cells whose role is to work against foreign bodies to protect our health may not be as effective against nano plastics as we would wish. There are serious concerns in scientific circles about the implications for human health of microplastics in our bodies. Research is underway and it remains to be seen what health issues can be shown to relate to plastic within our organs. The worry is that, like asbestos related disease, we may not have the scientific evidence of causation before massive damage has occurred.

In the meanwhile, what can we do about it as individuals?

One thing we can do is to reduce our own use of plastics and to ensure that, where we do use them, we put them out for recycling wherever possible. There are numerous websites containing information on how to do this.

An excellent read on the subject is, ‘No More Plastic’ by Martin Dorey, the founder of #2minutesolution, which is published by Edbury Press. Some simple lifestyle changes can have a significant effect on reducing plastic consumption.

We should support businesses who are working to eliminate or reduce the use of plastic and shun those who are not.

Finally, we should support efforts being made to persuade governments to legislate to reduce plastic use.

In this last respect, the Clean Earth Trust is presently petitioning the States of Guernsey to legislate to ban the supply of plastic cutlery, plates, straws, cotton bud sticks, balloon sticks, drink stirrers, polystyrene food containers and single-use plastic carrier bags. Supply of such products is already banned in the EU. The States is also being asked to introduce a government-wide plastic reduction programme.

Readers wishing to learn more about the petition and hopefully to support it, can find more information at https://www.cleanearthtrust.org/bansingleusegsy

Paul Bugden

paul.bugden@cleanearthtrust.org