Health impacts due to plastics worldwide may double by 2040: Lancet study

(Jan 27) Adverse effects on health due to emissions from the world’s plastics system, including greenhouse gases, air-polluting particles and toxic chemicals released from production, could more than double by 2040, compared to levels in 2016, if current trends continue, according to a study.

The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, also highlighted that the global production of plastics may not peak until beyond 2100, worsening environmental and health burdens in an already overwhelmed system.

Plastic pollution and emissions released across its lifecycle are increasingly recognised for their potential impacts on human health, yet the overall scale of the impact is only beginning to be fully quantified, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and institutes in France, said.