A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics 

The Health Crisis We Cannot Ignore

Plastics are not just an environmental problem: they have become a public health crisis. Physicians are witnessing an unprecedented health crisis linked to plastic pollution whose impacts include: rising rates of cancers, reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption and developmental impacts, cardiovascular disease, and immune dysfunction.

The evidence is clear: plastics threaten human health at every stage of their lifecycle: from production to disposal. Of the 16,000+ chemicals found in plastics, over 2,400 are of serious health concern. Microplastics and PFAS, also called “forever chemicals”, are especially concerning because they are widespread, persistent, and accumulating in human bodies.

What is the link between Microplastics and PFAS?

Microplastics can carry PFAS and other toxins

Microplastics are tiny particles from plastic breakdown, found in air, food, water and in human blood, lungs, liver, and placenta. They infiltrate our bodies.  Plastics and microplastics are not chemicals themselves, but they are made from petrochemicals which are substances derived from fossil fuels. 

98.5% of people in Canada have detectable PFAS in their blood

PFAS are  a group of long-lasting chemicals (not plastic particles) often called “forever chemicals”. Used in food packaging, cookware, and clothing, they persist in the environment and accumulate in the human body. Health impacts include cancer, reproductive harms, immune suppression, liver and kidney damage, and high cholesterol. Certain groups are more susceptible to the harmful effects of PFAS and microplastics. They have been facing disproportionate exposure and health harms due to environmental and occupational factors.

PFAS are chemicals added to plastics during production. They can be present in plastics and microplastics compounding the risk. When plastics degrade into microplastics, PFAS can remain in the microplastic particles and leach out into the environment. Microplastics may also absorb PFAS from the environment since they are widespread contaminants. 

Equity, Environmental Justice and Costs

The  public health crisis from plastics contributes to environmental justice too. If plastic were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter. By 2040, plastics could consume 19% of the global carbon budget, thus directly impacting climate change. According to a 2023 UN report, treating plastics-related illnesses and pollution already costs the world an estimated (up to) USD $600 billion annually. Addressing plastic pollution is therefore an essential climate action. 

With that comes a heavy health burden in Canada that  falls disproportionately on those already vulnerable such as children, Indigenous communities, racialized populations, and women who often experience the greatest exposure and the most severe impacts. 

Communities near facilities like Sarnia’s Chemical Valley (Ontario)

bear toxic loads that would be unacceptable elsewhere in Canada.

What Canada Must Do Now

9 in 10 people in Canada want to see federal action towards safer products

The widespread presence of PFAS and microplastics in the environment and human bodies calls for immediate regulatory action. As a member of the  Coalition for Action on Toxics, CAPE calls on the federal government to guarantee our right to a healthy environment by phasing out non-essential PFAS,  regulating  toxic additives in plastics under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), investing in monitoring and research on health impacts and no longer subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.

Please find our more specific asks in our new joint Manifesto against plastics at https://environmentaldefence.ca/endplastictoxicpollution/

Updating federal policies is an urgent matter of public health. By investing in alternatives and holding polluters accountable, Canada can build a cleaner and safer economy, and a healthier environment. People in Canada deserve protection from invisible pollutants harming health today and for generations to come.