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A Regional Approach For Health Risk Assessment of Toxicants in Plastic Food Containers
Summary
A study in Vietnam assessed health risks from chemical exposure through plastic food containers, surveying 309 people and testing 59 samples. Researchers found that many containers leached hazardous chemicals at levels that posed a potential health risk, especially for children. The findings highlight the need for stricter regulations on plastic food packaging in developing countries.
Abstract Plastic food containers are being used popularly, generating a waste of about 115 million tons in Vietnam. Such waste is causing environmental and health issues. This study conducted a field survey with 309 local people and selected 59 samples out of 135 plastic food containers collected in Go Vap district, Vietnam. Collected plastic samples identified compositions were PET 13.6 %, PP 28.8 %, PS 16.9 %, and 40.7 % X. Although most people are aware of the toxicity of plastics, plastics are still widely used due to their convenience and price with easy use and purchase. Collected plastic samples were classified based on the plastic type using recycling code and quantitatively analyzed with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy method to assess concentrations of Cd, Sb, Pb, Hg, Sn, Cr, Br, Cl, and S. Most of these collected plastic samples (91.5 %) were found to contain 8/9 hazardous substances and most elements contained in these plastics were below their standard thresholds. However, elements Cl and Sb exceeded their safe thresholds, reached the highest concentrations of 1990.3 ppm and 469.2 ppm, respectively. Thus, additional health risks need to be assessed using the USEtox model. Finally, this study proposed a screening process to assess the risk of toxicity of elements contained in plastic food containers through ISO 31000:2018.