Take a moment and think about this question. How much black plastic do you have in your home? A new study found most of the black plastics tested have alarming levels of toxins. Scientists tested a wide array of plastics from toys to kitchen utensils to carry-out containers. And the study has garnered a great deal of attention. Major publications from Forbes to The Washington Post have posted stories about the study. So, I reached out to the group that conducted the study.

The peer-reviewed study was done by an environmental group called Toxic-Free Future. It found the chemicals used in flame retardants at levels many times higher than those mandated in Europe and other countries that regulate them.  And it found those flame retardants in nearly every sample tested. 

The U.S began widely using flame retardants in the ’70s because of the prevalence of fires caused by people smoking indoors. Now we know many of those chemicals are toxic. Some have been banned or phased out, but those toxins are still all around us. I interviewed Megan Liu, the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future.

Megan Liu: We specifically tested black plastic because we hypothesized that’s used in electronic enclosures, like in the TV casings that we have in our homes, were being recycled through electronic waste recycling and contaminating household products downstream.”

Deanna Dewberry: “So e-waste is supposed to be recycled separately and used for other electronics. So how is it contaminating other plastic goods?”

Liu: “I think what the study highlights is we have inherent issues with our recycling process. We don’t have regulations about what kind of chemicals and what kind of materials are allowed to go into the recycling process.”

Dewberry: “To be clear, these are flame retardants that we know to be carcinogenic but they’re still being used in plastics, right?”

Liu: “They are carcinogenic; they can cause endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, as well as reproductive and developmental toxicity.”

Dewberry: “To the skeptic who says, ‘That chemical is in the plastic, but we have no evidence that it’s actually leaching out.’ You say what to that.?”

Liu: “Well we know for a fact that flame retardants and other chemical additives are not chemically bound to the polymers that they’re added to … and there are actually plenty of studies that have found flame retardants in indoor air, in dust, and water. And so, there is proven evidence that flame retardants are able to leach out from the product that they’re in and into the environment around us.”

Scientists have long known flame retardants are a problem. A broad study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year looked at the blood samples of 1,100 people and found those with high levels of the chemicals in their blood had A 300 percent increased risk of dying from cancer.

There are small things we can do like replacing cooking utensils with metal or wood, and limiting the black plastic toys we buy for our children. When I go out to eat, I take a small Pyrex dish in my purse for leftovers. Yep, I get some side-eyes. But I’m doing what I can to stay on the planet as long and as possible, while remaining as healthy as possible.