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Anyone who reduces plastic consumption in everyday life is doing good for the environment – and demonstrably has fewer plastics in their blood. Even if scientists do not agree on where the limit lies: “The less, the better” everyone signs.
“Wow! I had not thought of that. I was a little afraid that the result wouldn’t be that good because I still need a little plastic. But it’s really surprisingly much less!”
What inspires Patrizia Birri so much is the result of four months of consciously avoiding plastic in everyday life. Especially on packaging that can release plasticizers such as phthalates into food.
Trigger: the Baden plastic experiment.
“Stop the plastic madness” was the motto at the plastic headquarters in the middle of Baden’s old town at the beginning of 2020. Installations, campaigns and events were used to draw attention to the immense environmental impact of plastic – and to the dangers to our health with a blood test.
Responsible for the medical experiment: the Baden family doctor Christoph Broens. He feared that there would be too much plastic in the form of plasticizers in the subjects’ blood. “There are about 6,000 plasticizers that don’t have to be declared. And we actually know very little about their effect, especially when combined.
Or as one participant put it: “It’s all so new… You have no idea what kind of bomb is ticking!”
Around 230 people had their blood drawn for analysis purposes. It was tested in a German laboratory for seven known plasticizers, including the well-known substance bisphenol A.
The result of Patrizia Birri’s first measurement: three of the seven values were above the limit defined in the experiment. A shock. “I was convinced that I had already been very careful with plastic before and I really wonder where these values come from.”
If we take plasticizers into our bodies through food, they could have a negative impact on our hormonal system – this is the suspicion. At least, large studies suggest that such substances could cause obesity, poorer sperm quality or breast cancer.
However, the direct connection is scientifically controversial and difficult to prove.
A second measurement a month later should have shown how consistently avoiding plastic as much as possible affects blood values. Would have. Because the coronavirus also put a big damper on the plastic experiment for the time being.
The second measurement took place three months later than planned. A little more than half of the test subjects came back to have the extent of the change since the first blood sample clarified. Patrizia Birris’ hope: “The values above 100 percent have hopefully fallen and the rest have also fallen.”
A few weeks later we were certain: Yes, the values are significantly lower. According to the German Laboratory, this happened to practically all participants.
Family doctor Christoph Broens draws a correspondingly positive assessment of the experiment he helped initiate – but also says that the measurements must be interpreted very carefully: “The exact connections need to be investigated further. A lot more people are needed to determine that.” But that couldn’t be the point of the plastic experiment.
“It’s about showing that you’re not just at the mercy of it. You can achieve something through changing behavior and taking personal responsibility.
Human toxicologist Martin Wilks can live with this statement. His everyday research work: the dangers of such substances for humans.
When asked by the SRF health magazine “Puls” to classify the plastic experiment, he also warns against reading too much into the blood values. Because the experiment is not comparable to established and scientific methods. It also creates the feeling of a general threatening situation that does not exist.
“The measured reduction does not mean that I was previously at risk and am no longer at risk. It just proves that I have changed my behavior.” This change in behavior will of course have an effect – but that does not mean that the risk potential was previously high.
For Patrizia Birri, the question of perceived and actual danger is the same. She can do without the plasticizers in her blood, and during the experiment she also found a new shopping routine: she became a regular customer of an “unpackaged store”.
Plastic only where it cannot be avoided. It should stay that way in the future.