Nick Usborne, Father and Writer

Posted on May 4, 2010 —

I don’t even recall when or how I first began to hear about toxic chemicals leaching out of plastics. Probably I read an article somewhere, and it just flicked a switch in my mind.

As with many of us, my first instinct was to rid my home of most of the more dangerous plastics. I was relentless in my search for any plastic items which contained BPA, phthalates or styrene.

Once that was done, I began to look at all the other plastics in my home – particularly those which did not have a recycling symbol and number. Remember, those numbers are not put there to help us identify the type of plastic. There are put there to help recycling companies sort through a mountain of discarded plastic items and separate them into groups. As a result, only those items which are commonly recycled have the symbol and number on them.

But what about your computer keyboard? What type of plastic is that made from? Or the mouse you use to navigate the web? Or your cell phone? The steering wheel in your car? The comb or brush you use for your hair? Your home phone? The grips on your bicycle’s handlebars?

We are touching and holding plastic items many times during each day. Maybe for hours each day. And we have no idea what types of plastics we are touching.

I then did some more research and discovered that there is almost no legislation regarding the chemicals used in plastics. We now know about the effects of BPA, phthalates and styrene, but what other toxic chemicals are used in making plastics?

There is no law requiring companies to disclose the chemical ingredients of a plastic product. There is a voluntary agreement in place between U.S. companies and the EPA. But it is voluntary, and companies rarely comply. When they do volunteer information to the EPA, 95% of that information is marked as “confidential business information”. In other words, the EPA can’t reveal what it has learned.

This means there could be other, highly toxic chemicals used in everyday plastics, and nobody is obliged to let us know.

At this point in my research, my motivation moved up the scale from curiosity to outrage. I started writing about the subject and created my BadPlastics website.

But here is the thing that really gets me. Who are these people working in those chemical companies? And what moral compass do they use when making decisions?

Scientists, product managers, vice presidents and CEOs are all aware of the dangers their products pose to the public. But they keep on selling them. Then they pay lobbyists millions of dollars to pressure government to either stop or slow down legislation designed to protect our health. They pay their media spinners a few more million to cast doubt on scientists who try to warn the public of the dangers in their homes.

But these business people are human beings, like you and I. Do they really think it’s OK to leave their personal moral compass at home when they leave for work in the morning?

Maybe we should conduct a test. We’ll find the CEOs, lobbyists and publicists who push the hardest against control of toxic chemicals in plastics.

Then we’ll go visit their homes, and see if their kitchens, bathrooms and kids’ bedrooms still contain dangerous plastics.

If they don't, the next question is clear.

If you won’t let your own children come in contact with these chemicals, why would you let ours?