Headline, September 22 2025/ GOVERNANCE : ''' PLASTICS -BENEVOLENT- PLANET * '''

GOVERNANCE : 

''' PLASTICS -BENEVOLENT- 

PLANET * '''

THE STUDENTS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD are concerned and just can't stop asking : '' what the hell is all this about plastics? What is plastic?

This question isn't as silly as it sounds. The miraculous substances that suffuse our daily lives are not one material but many, differing wildly in look, feel and function, from materials to Saran Wrap to your kids' legos to airplanes.

Even two seemingly identical plastics are rarely the same because manufacturers add any number of additives, such as phthalates, flame retardants, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to imbue their products with additional flexibility, say, or heat resistance.

BY ONE ESTIMATE, there are at least 16,000 known chemical additives used by the plastics industry, of which at least 4,200 are known to be toxic.

And because plastics inevitably break down into microplastics and then nanoplastics, eventually making their way into our lungs, guts, brains and even our unborn children, whatever is in our plastic is in us, too.

THIS is a high-stakes moment for anyone invested in what plastics may be doing to our health. Representatives from more than 170 countries involved in a United Nations plastics treaty process have gathered in Geneva to try for the sixth time, to negotiate the first global agreement to regulate the production, consumption and disposal of plastics.

A previous meeting, held in South Korea last December, failed because of disagreements between countries pushing for an ambitious treaty and a group of fossil-fuel producing nations, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and the United States.

Among the causes for discord has been the questions of plastics' impact on human health.

This issue should concern all Americans, given the findings of the so-called Make America Healthy Again Commission, which highlighted the potential risks of microplastics, phthalates, PFAS and other plastic additives for children's health.

Dozens of countries and an independent coalition of scientists want to ban plastics and chemical additives that are known or suspected to harm human health.

But Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, has argued that including the language on the health impacts of plastics would distract from the core focus on pollution.

The Trump administration has suggested that it would support only a treaty that protects American business interests.

Exactly what if anything, plastics are doing to our health remains hotly contested. But the signs aren't good.

Researchers have linked microplastics consumption to an increased risk of cancer, respiratory disorders, bowel disease and male and female infertility.

They are also known to trigger inflammation - a precondition for cancer - and possibly interfere with antibiotics.

Researchers writing in the British medical journal The Lancet recently declared plastics '' a grave, growing and underrecognized danger to human and planetary health.''

This might sound pretty damning, but proving whether microplastics are causing any specific disease is surprisingly hard.

For one thing, much of the science on microplastics is relatively new and based on studies of animal or human cells in a lab.

As Nicholas Chartres, a senior research fellow who studies microplastics at the University of Sydney Pharmacy School, told me, '' You can't ethically randomize people to be exposed to these chemicals.''

Several long-term observational studies are ongoing, but conclusive results may be years away.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Plastics, Chemicals, Human Health and Planet, continues. The World Students Society thanks Oliver Franklin-Wallis.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on !WOW! - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless