Editor’s note: Multiple researchers have documented the presence of microplastics — tiny particles of plastic — in the human population. However, scientists have not yet definitively shown a causal link between microplastics and human health. Learn more here.
As a retired nurse with an ongoing interest in health and wellness, I celebrate the many brilliant initiatives we too often take for granted. Effective and responsible public health must honor an individual’s right to rule over their own health while promoting and employing measures to keep the general population well. This balancing act requires a good deal of finesse.
I’m thankful that through good governing we have vaccinations for children. A visit to local cemeteries reveals how whole families died when transmittable diseases like diphtheria, whooping cough and polio that spread early in the last century. The banning of smoking in public places, seat-belt laws, and hand-washing guidelines for health care and food service workers have made a meaningful difference for everyone. Every time a new law is enacted, some people grumble. I remember my friend who would never be caught wearing a motorcycle helmet. After his accident and resulting traumatic brain injury, he deeply regretted his “don’t tell me what to do” stance.
What does all this have to do with the recent overturning of the single-use plastic bag ban in the city of Athens? As a member of Athens ReThink Plastics, I have learned how the pervasive exposure of plastic through microplastics in the air, water and food is harming our health. In recent years, these microplastics or their chemical components have been discovered in more and more systems of the human body. Most upsetting to me is the discovery of microplastics in placental tissue and breast milk. If you are pro-life, let’s not just talk the talk but actually take meaningful measures to ensure babies aren’t born with environmentally caused diseases from day one.
Around 40% of all plastic waste has been found to be Single Use Plastic Bottles and Single Use Plastic Bags (SUPBs). Neither is necessary. I commend Athens City Council for taking a prudent step to enact a ban this past year that kept hundreds of thousands of SUPBs out of our waste system. Unfortunately, Ohio Attorney General David Yost sued the city to stop the ban, and a local judge sided with the AG. Recently, the city of Athens appealed that decision to the Fourth District Court of Appeals and with good cause. Home rule allows municipalities to pass laws for the safety of their local citizens.
The answer to plastic pollution is not collecting a mere fraction of single use plastic bags to make a few park benches as mentioned in Athens Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy’s ruling. That may make us feel good, but it’s like applying a band aid when a tourniquet is needed! Our nation took decisive action when lead exposure was affecting children’s brain development. We need to enact policies that have real impact on this crisis.
Maybe when people become more aware that male reproductive systems have been adversely affected by plastic exposure, they will wake up. Dramatically lower sperm counts, sperm mobility, testosterone levels and testicle weight are a few of the discoveries from animal studies. Recently, it was reported that four out of five samples of penile tissue from men being treated for erectile dysfunction had SEVEN different types of microplastics! If that’s not enough to draw concern, please note that male babies can be affected when exposed to plastic chemicals in utero, both in penis size and anogenital distance. The alarm has been sounded by many of these researchers; however, it seems to fall on deaf ears as Ohio politicians in the majority are more inclined to listen to lobbyists for the plastic industry.
Numerous countries around the world have made far more progress in reducing plastics pollution, and we are becoming a backwards nation when we drag our feet and ignore science. We urge individuals to continue to “Bring your own bag.” It isn’t rocket science; it’s simply common sense.
