Horrifying study details thousands more toxic chemicals in plastic than previously thought

You probably already know that plastic contains chemicals that can be harmful to you—flame retardants on your couch, for instance, or BPA in water  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

Presented by   You probably already know that plastic contains chemicals that can be harmful to you—flame retardants on your couch, for instance, or BPA in water bottles. What you probably don't realize is that there are actually thousands more chemicals that may be just as hazardous. A horrifying new study reveals that a quarter of the 10,500 chemicals found in plastics are "substances of potential concern," meaning that they may be known to cause cancer, damage organs, or be toxic to aquatic life. And many of these substances are in products we use everyday, such as children's toys and food packaging. Scientists are only beginning to learn about these chemicals and their impact on our health. This story lays out what we know about plastic and what we can do to fight back. — Elizabeth Segran   There are thousands more toxic chemicals in plastic than we thought You know that phthalates and flame retardants are toxic. But a new study finds that a quarter of all chemicals in plastics could be equally harmful to you.   READ MORE   Would you donate an organ to a stranger? This extraordinary new ad campaign makes it hard to say no Montefiore and ad agency Alto have created a platform for people waiting for organs to advertise their stories to possible donors.   READ MORE

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