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Assessment of The Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Plastic Additives Used in Plastic Manufacturing in Vietnam
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As Vietnam's plastic industry booms, this review paper looks at how chemical additives in plastics—like phthalates and bisphenols, which are added to make plastic more flexible or durable—can leak into air, soil, water, and household dust during manufacturing, everyday use, and disposal. People end up exposed to these chemicals by breathing them in, swallowing them, or absorbing them through skin, which raises health concerns since many of these additives have been linked to hormone disruption and other health risks. The takeaway: cutting down on toxic additives, being more transparent about what's in plastic products, and improving recycling could help protect both
The plastics manufacturing industry in Vietnam has expanded rapidly, reaching nearly 11.13 million tons by 2025, leading to the widespread use of additives such as phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, heavy metal stabilizers, etc. Although these substances improve the properties of plastic products, they pose serious risks to the environment and human health. This study surveys the current status of plastic additive use in Vietnam, classifies the main types of additives, examines their emission mechanisms into the environment through production, use, and disposal stages, and assesses their impacts on air, soil, water, and human health. The results show that plastic additives can be emitted through industrial emissions, waste incineration emissions, leachate, microplastics, and indoor dust; leading to environmental pollution, bioaccumulation, and human exposure through inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact. The study also proposes several management solutions, alternative technologies, and policies, such as applying green chemistry, regulating the concentrations of toxic substances, ensuring transparency in the chemical composition of plastic products, and improving the collection and recycling of plastic waste. These measures aim to minimize the use of toxic additives, thereby limiting negative impacts on the environment and public health.
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Ecotoxicology of Plastic Additives: Environmental and Health Perspectives
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This review pulls together existing research showing that chemicals added to plastics (like phthalates and flame retardants) can leach out over time and enter our food, air, and water. Once in our bodies, these additives have been linked to hormone disruption, reproductive problems, and even cancer. The authors call for stricter regulations and better recycling to reduce our exposure.
Additives of Plastic: Entry Into the Environment and Potential Risks to Human and Ecological Health
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This review synthesizes evidence on plastic chemical additives—including plasticizers, bisphenols, flame retardants, and PFAS—showing they leach from polymers throughout the plastic lifecycle and accumulate in human tissues, soils, and water, where they drive endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity while regulatory frameworks remain fragmented and insufficient.
Assessing the environmental and health impacts of plastic production and recycling
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This review summarizes how plastic production and recycling both contribute to pollution and health problems, noting that plastics contain chemical additives like phthalates and bisphenols linked to hormone disruption and reproductive issues. The authors highlight that even recycling generates some pollutants, and the growing accumulation of microplastics in food and water raises additional health concerns.
Phthalates and Their Impacts on Human Health
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This review examines phthalates, chemicals widely used to make plastics flexible, and their harmful effects on human health as endocrine disruptors. Chronic exposure to phthalates has been linked to reproductive problems, developmental issues in children, and complications during pregnancy. Since phthalates are common additives in microplastics, understanding their toxicity is essential for assessing the full health risk of microplastic exposure.
Understanding the leaching of plastic additives and subsequent risks to ecosystems
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This review explains how chemical additives in plastics -- including plasticizers, flame retardants, and stabilizers -- can leach out of microplastics into the environment and potentially into the human body. Some of these additives, such as phthalates and brominated flame retardants, are persistent, build up in living tissue, and are linked to hormone disruption and other health effects. The authors note that our understanding of the full toxicity risk from leaching plastic additives is still limited.
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