Chemical in packaging plastic, disposable cups could cause cancer – WHO

A study commissioned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an expert branch of the World Health Organisation  (WHO), has revealed that a common chemical used in plastic packaging, disposable cups and rubber  can cause cancer in humans. The chemical called styrene is used to make latex, synthetic rubber and polystyrene resins which […]

A study commissioned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an expert branch of the World Health Organisation  (WHO), has revealed that a common chemical used in plastic packaging, disposable cups and rubber  can cause cancer in humans.

The chemical called styrene is used to make latex, synthetic rubber and polystyrene resins which is contained in disposable food and drink plastic packaging.

Styrene has been classified as ‘possibly carcinogenic’  for about 40 years but was given a more dangerous status this week as WHO upgraded it to ‘probably carcinogenic for humans.’ 

Its rating was upgraded from possibly cancer-causing after thorough research.

The research revealed that people exposed to styrene at work have double the risk of getting leukaemia, and a five times higher risk of a certain type of nasal cancer.

The average person is most likely to come into contact with styrene in polluted air, or possibly from printers, photocopiers or cigarette smoke.

Work environments with a risk of styrene exposure have improved in Denmark, where the research was done, but it is still a global problem, experts say.

The research looked at the records of more than 70,000 people who worked in the Danish plastics industry between 1968 and 2011.

The team also reviewed evidence from animal studies on the risks of being exposed to styrene. 

“The most recent styrene study shows the risk of acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare form of leukaemia, is doubled,” says  Professor Henrik Kolstad of Aarhus University in Denmark. “Out of the more than 70,000 people included in the research project, we found 25 cases of acute myeloid leukaemia, where you would statistically expect to find 10,” he added.   

Research also found a fivefold increase in the risk of sinonasal adenocarcinoma – nasal cancer – among those who are exposed to styrene in the plastic industry. 

Styrene is included in synthetic rubber, some insulation materials, disposable cutlery, plastic packaging and fiberglass plastic.

It is possible people may consume small amounts of the chemical if it gets into food in polystyrene containers, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

The IARC says exploring a possible link between styrene and cancer has been a priority since the 1970s when Americans working in the synthetic rubber industry had an unusual number of leukaemia cases.  

However, scientists could not tell whether the workers contracted leukaemia from handling styrene or from butadiene, a chemical used alongside it to make rubber.

So researchers looked at records of 456 Danish companies which used styrene, but not butadiene, to make reinforced plastics, such as companies making wind turbines and yachts which contain fibreglass.  

PhD students Mette Skovgaard Christensen, Henrik Kolstad and their colleagues in the research project, followed 73,036 employees during the period 1968-2011. 

Collected information was then linked with the Danish Cancer Register to compare the risk of cancers among plastics employees with the risk to the general public.w