The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) has looked at toxic chemicals in plastics from all over the world and found dangerous compounds in baby bottles, hair accessories, toys, clothes, plastic litter on beaches, in food packaging, everywhere. Many of these are not chemically bound to the material and can leach out, transferring to marine organisms such as fish and seabirds, as well as to humans. Unfortunately, this problem extends far from the visible plastic litter floating on the surface of the oceans.
Harmful chemicals end up in the environment when the oil or gas used to produce plastics is extracted, during its production in factories, when we use it, and after disposal. Through runoff, riverine transport and mismanaged wastes, toxic chemicals from plastics continuously make their way to the ocean.
The chemicals include Bisphenol A (BPA), which has links to cancer as well as increased abnormalities and negatively affect the development, growth and survival of water-living organisms. Other chemicals in plastics are persistent organic pollutants, which will stay in the oceans for a very long time, such as chlorinated paraffins, which have been shown to accumulate in marine food-chains. Another is PFAS, which have been linked to a multitude of negative effects on marine organisms, including hyperactivity and failed swim bladder inflation in fish.