The Black Plastic Scare

Did you read recently about the dangers of using black plastic utensils in your cooking or at the table?  Did it give you a sinking feeling, remembering all the times you’ve pulled your black spatula or your black serving spoon out of your kitchen drawers.  Did it make you wonder how much of the chemicals from these utensils is already building up in the body tissues of you and your family?  Well, it’s time to relax, at least slightly.  The situation is much less toxic than the results claimed by a recent scientific study.

The problem comes down to a simple error in arithmetic that occurred during research published in the journal “Chemosphere” earlier this year.  The study was conducted by “Toxic-Free Future”, a non-profit environmental health advocacy group.  The lead researcher was Megan Liu of Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (1)

The study scientists were looking into black plastic parts from electronics that are often recycled and then incorporated into many household items including spatulas, serving spoons and take-out containers which we use to prepare and store our food.

The problem is that black plastic parts from electronics contain high concentrations of flame retardants such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The study screened 203 products for the presence of bromine, the critical element in BFRs, looking for levels of exposure to humans.   BFRs are considered to be toxic and persistent, in that they don’t break down in the body, and they are related to health concerns like cancer, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity. (2,3,4)

Results of this research demonstrated that exposure to contaminated kitchen utensils could cause an estimated daily intake of 34,700 nanograms of a BFR known as decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209). The paper pointed out that this amount is at 80% of the safe dose limit for this particular chemical.  (1)

The safe dose limit (Reference Value) for the toxin BDE-209 is 7,000 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day.  So, the daily upper safe limit of BDE-209 for a 60-kilogram (132 lb) adult would be 420,000 nanograms, achieved by multiplying 7,000 by 60.

Unfortunately, when the scientists performing the study calculated out the safe dose limit of BDE-209 for a 60 kg person they came up with 42,000 ng/day, a severe calculation error that resulted in a safe dose that was 10 times lower than it should have been.  The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz PhD, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.  He read the headlines, looked up the published study, and did his own calculating.  After correcting for the error, he pointed out that BDE-209 exposure to humans from black plastic kitchen utensils was actually 8% of the toxic dose not 80%. (5)

Readers of this correction might have breathed a sigh of relief when they learned the true state of affairs.  However, the threat, though a smaller one, is still there. Megan Liu, lead researcher in this study, noted that this error does not mean that the flame retardants present in plastic utensils are benign; exposure to BFRs is still a matter of high concern and their recommendations remain the same.  And fortunately, this threat to health is one that we have the power in our own hands to eliminate.

The thing is, we don’t have to use black plastic utensils in our kitchens.  There are many substitutions available in healthier materials such as stainless steel, wood and silicone. The anxiety that this study originally produced has been calmed but we still need to examine the facts of this situation and make a careful decision about what we feel comfortable with using in our kitchens.  Likely all of us have wooden spoons lurking in our drawers.  Pull them out and put them to good use.  Silicone and stainless steel kitchen utensils are easy to find on Amazon and in kitchen stores.  Sure, they are more expensive than the black plastic versions, but they’ll last for many years and they don’t pose a threat to health.  Only you can decide what price you are willing to pay for living the healthiest life that you can.

As for the study, as Dr. Joe Schwarz commented, “You have to make sure your numbers are correct before you scare the pants off people.” (6)   We can all be thankful that there are scientists in this world scrutinizing the scientific community and keeping the facts factual.

 

SOURCES:

1  Liu, M., Brandsma, S.H., Schreder, E. From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about plastic recycling. Chemosphere. 2024 Oct;365:143319. Doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143319. Epub 2024 Sep 11. PMID: 39271080.

2  Liu, B., Lehmler, H.-J., Ye, Z., Yuan, X., Yan, Y., et al.  Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality.  JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(4):e243127. Doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3127

3  Kim, Y.R., Harden, F.A., Toms, L.M., Norman, R.E. Health consequences of exposure to brominated flame retardants: a systematic review. Chemosphere. 2014 Jul;106:1-19. Doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.12.064. Epub 2014 Feb 11. PMID: 24529398.

4  Lyche, J.L., Rosseland, C., Berge, G., Polder, A. Human health risk associated with brominated flame-retardants (BFRs). Environ Int. 2015 Jan;74:170-80. Doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.09.006. Epub 2014 Oct 29. PMID: 25454234.

5  https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/huge-math-error-corrected-in-black-plastic-study-authors-say-it-doesnt-matter/

6  https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/black-plastic