A shocking research study published in Chemosphere late last year revealed a public danger hidden in plain sight: toxic chemicals are present in most if not all black plastics, including fast-food containers, kitchen utensils, children’s toys, and more.

That study’s finding have made headlines recently again — after its authors issued a correction that they say does not change their initial concerns about the risk to people who use the plastics.

The research comes at a time when health concerns over unsafe consumer products are high. For example, we’ve seen many headlines about PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), a synthetic material known as the “forever chemical,” in non-stick cookware, contaminated drinking water, and other common items. PFAS are called forever chemicals because they are “nearly indestructible” and “toxic at extremely low levels”, according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.

Researchers behind the Chemosphere paper say that people should consider their total exposure to these types of chemicals ­— in the case of black plastics, that’s types of fire retardant chemicals ­— when assessing their potential harm.

“A number of the flame retardants we found in the products are persistent, bioaccumulative toxics, or PBTs, chemicals that don’t break down quickly and build up in our bodies and the food chain,” said the researchers, recently.

The recent correction was related to a number in the study that was believed to indicate a safe level of exposure, but was misstated. The researchers say their work is still relevant and the conclusions still valid.
Experts are now urging consumers to conduct thorough evaluation of purchased products for not only consumption, but general use, as many toys and other products use black plastics, PFAS, or other contaminated materials.

Bromine is one major concern with black plastics. This is a flame retardant product associated with “causing cancer, endocrine and thyroid issues, fetal and child development and neurobehavioral function and reproductive and immune system toxicity,” which is unsuitable for consumption in any quantity. However, it was “found in 70% of (black plastic) samples tested, at levels ranging from five to 1,200 times greater than the European Union’s limit” for exposure, according to CNN.

Harm does not only come from consumption. Studies have also shown that chemicals can escape from products into dust and air inside our homes, travel through wastewater, and pollute homes, water, the food supply, and eventually enter the human body. This means having black plastics around can already pose a health risk.

Black plastic makes up only about 0.06% of the international plastic market, but about 15% of America’s plastic waste, according to the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

So why are these toxic substances even found in black plastics? Megan Liu, the lead author of the study for Toxic-Free Future states, “The plastics used to make the consumer products were contaminated with flame retardants due to mistakes in the recycling of electronic waste.”

These electronics use black plastic to reduce the risk of catching fire or other hazards, a common feature in most electronics containing displays.

In most cases, black plastics do not even get recycled, due to the difficulty to detect such in recycling centers, explaining the high amounts of black plastic waste.

Current recycling and sorting centers mostly use near-infrared cameras, detecting the amount of light reflected off of the plastics. These plastics are then placed on the near-infrared spectrum, determining the type of plastic. Black plastics, however, do not reflect any light and are therefore not detectable. Changing our sorting centers entirely to detect black plastic would be challenging as many sorting facilities do not even have expensive equipment such as near-infrared cameras.

Black plastic is still used commonly because it is durable, cheap, aesthetically pleasing, and most significantly, the accepted standard for plastic packaging. Changing the standard for the type of plastic being used will take significant amounts of time, therefore it is important to protect yourself by following certain measures provided by Megan Liu:

• “Replace your plastic kitchen utensils with stainless steel options or choose plastic-free items to help reduce your overall exposure to harmful additives and plastic.”
• “Some manufacturers also have strong policies about removing retardants from their products, so you can also be a careful shopper.”
• “Dusting, mopping, and vacuuming regularly will remove dust that is likely contaminated with plastics and other worrisome chemicals in addition to flame retardants”
• “Frequent hand washing and proper ventilation can help as well.”

To combat this issue as a society, legislation in some areas has already restricted flame retardants; for example, New York does not allow organohalogen flame retardants in many electronic products containing displays, such as mobile phones, computers, televisions, and gaming consoles.