Environmental and Health Hazards of Chemicals in Plastic Polymers and Products (original) (raw)

Plastics are extremely diverse in terms of chemical composition, properties and possible applications, and are widely distributed in the society and the environment. In the last 15 years the global annual production has doubled, reaching 245 million tons in 2008. Several of the chemicals used to produce plastics are hazardous for human health and the environment. These, and their degradation products, may be released during the life cycle of a plastic product. The plastic polymers are not considered as toxic, but in plastic products there may be non-bound residual monomers, polymerisation chemicals, degradation products, and additives which have toxic properties.