Black plastic kitchen utensils and toys contain excessively high levels of flame retardants. These substances increase the risk of cancer.
- Black plastic items, such as kitchen utensils or certain toys, can be contaminated with dangerous substances when the material is recycled.
- A study shows that they contain too high levels of flame retardants.
- These chemicals are associated with a high risk of cancer.
If you have black plastic items, you urgently need to replace them. Spatulas, spoons or other kitchen utensils, children’s toys, take-out containers: the material is present in many everyday items. However, according to a recent study, published in Chemosphere At the beginning of October, black plastic was contaminated with chemical substances called flame retardants. These increase the risk of cancer.
Toxic substances found in toys
This work was carried out by the Toxic-Free Future association, which conducts research on toxic products, and the Amsterdam Institute for Life and the Environment at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The authors examined around 200 products present in our daily lives: they looked for bromine, a substance used as a flame retardant. “The black plastic pirate coin-like beads (…) had one of the highest levels of flame retardants.”underlines Megan Liu, lead author of the study, director of science and policy for Toxic-Free Future, in an interview with CNN. These children’s toys contain up to 22,800 parts per million, a scientific unit of measurement, of flame retardants. According to this expert, this represents almost 3% of the total weight of the object. In takeout sushi trays, researchers found up to 1,900 parts per million of flame retardants.
How to explain the presence of flame retardants in black plastic?
According to the authors, these dangerous substances contaminate everyday products during recycling. “The most dangerous flame retardants found in the study in consumer products are the same ones used in the electronic boxes of televisions and other electronic devices.specifies Megan Liu. Black plastics would thus be contaminated due to errors when recycling these electronic products.
Contaminated plastic: health risks
Among the objects analyzed, some contained decabromodiphenyl ether or decaBDE, which belongs to the category of PBDE polybrominated diphenyl ethers. However, according to a study published in April 2024, people with the highest blood levels of PBDEs have a 300% higher risk of cancer, compared to people with the lowest blood levels. The substance is also associated with higher risks of thyroid or endocrine disorders, developmental disorders in the fetus and children, and may present toxicity to the immune system.
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