WEBINAR SUMMARY: Hidden Harms: How Plastics & Chemicals in Plastics Affect the Developing Brains of Children

By: Gabriella (Gabby) Chalker, ACAT Environmental Justice and Community Health Researcher 

In a recent webinar by CHE Alaska titled “Hidden Harms: How Plastics & Chemicals in Plastics Affect the Developing Brains of Children(opens in new tab),” leading experts with Project TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks) Maureen Swanson, Dr. Carmen Marsit, and Dr. Susan Schantz examined the emerging science on how plastics and the chemical additives used in their production may interfere with biological processes essential for healthy brain development. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to these environmental exposures during critical periods of growth.   

 

Methods of Toxic Chemical Exposures​ During Pregnancy and Early Life 

Children are developing within and being born already exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals. These include toxic metals, air pollutants, pesticides, and chemicals derived from plastics such as phthalates, bisphenols, organophosphate plasticizers, and flame retardants. Beyond their ubiquity, regulation is challenging because of fragmented U.S. jurisdictions which dictate involvement by exposure origins. 

 

Sources of exposure regulated by EPA: 

• Air 

• Water 

• Land 

• Pesticides 

• Furniture, carpeting, flooring, electronics 

• Cleaning products and other consumer goods 

Sources of exposure regulated by FDA: 

• Food  

• Bottled water 

• Personal care products 

• Cosmetics

 

Food and beverages can also become contaminated from plastic packaging and food processing equipment.

 

Children are Uniquely Susceptible to Exposure 

Scientists have identified chemicals in pregnant women and in all stages of early development, including the developing fetus, placenta, maternal circulation, and breast milk.  

 

In addition to breast milk and typical adult exposure routes, babies are exposed through unique pathways, such as hand-to-mouth behavior. Moreover, relative to their body weight, infants consume more than adults: up to 7x more water(opens in new tab) (0–6 months), 3x more food(opens in new tab), and 2x more air(opens in new tab). Therefore, due to their smaller body size and differences in metabolism, detoxification, and excretion rates for environmental chemicals, infants and toddlers face a higher chemical body burden.  

 

Microplastics and Food Supply

Microplastics present another source of exposure and a potential toxic agent themselves, born from macroplastics in bottles, containers, wrappers, and fabrics, as well as intentionally added microplastics. In consumer products, these particles range in size from 1000 nanometers to 1 millimeter in size (the diameter of human hair). Nanoplastics are even smaller, the size of viruses or our own DNA, meaning they can deliver chemicals directly into the body’s cells.

 

Our food supply presents a major source of exposure to plastics and plastic chemicals. These chemicals enter our food at every stage of the food chain, from farming and harvesting to food production and processing, packaging, transport and storage, and retail settings. New studies(opens in new tab) have detected 26 food-related chemicals — such as pesticide and flame-retardant biomarkers, as well as metabolites of phthalates and alternative plasticizers — in over 90% of children. Many of the study’s detected chemicals were replacement chemicals, demonstrating that even when harmful materials are banned, substitutes are often equally or more toxic and prevalent in children. 

 

Food deserts and insecurity compound health disparities by limiting access to safer alternatives. This is a critical environmental justice issue: fast food(opens in new tab) and ultra-processed foods(opens in new tab) are major sources of neurotoxic phthalates. Notably, Black women in the U.S. have higher cumulative exposure(opens in new tab) to androgen-disrupting phthalates than White or Mexican American women.  

 

Impacts of Plastics on Health and Neurodevelopment 

The health impacts of plastic exposure can start in early life and potentially lead to lifelong health risks, such as impaired development and reproductive harm. Plastics and associated chemical additives are further associated with alterations of the immune system, endocrine disruption, and respiratory diseases, as well as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and growth abnormalities. 

 

The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) human biomonitoring(opens in new tab) consistently demonstrates that our youngest children have the highest exposure to phthalates, a group of known  neurotoxic chemicals that are prevalent in food processing and packaging materials, as well as personal care products. MRI scans reveal(opens in new tab) that early exposure to phthalates and replacement plasticizers is linked to structural changes in brain morphology and neural connectivity, impacting memory, emotional control, attention, and decision making.

 

 

 

Dr. Susan Schantz found that babies with higher prenatal phthalate exposure had slower information processing and poorer recognition memory(opens in new tab), with boys specifically exhibiting delays in physical reasoning and information processing.​ In older children, higher phthalate exposure in early life has been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and increased ADHD behaviors(opens in new tab), demonstrating that the consequences of early exposure persist.  

 

In addition to phthalates, other neurotoxic chemicals include phenols, which are also found in food packaging, parabens, the herbicide glyphosate, and PFAS. Their impacts are wide reaching: over 90% of American children aged 2-5 harbor multiple neurotoxic plastics in their bodies(opens in new tab). 

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Policy Recommendations 

• Ban toxic chemical classes used in plastics and food contact materials, starting with phthalates, bisphenols, and flame retardants.​ 

• Phase out the worst toxic plastic polymers, such as polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene.​​ 

• Prevent recycling and incineration of plastics including “chemical recycling,” “advanced recycling,” and “waste-to-energy” schemes.​ 

• Prohibit use of sludge and sludge-derived compost on farm & grazing lands to prevent contamination with microplastics, PFAS, heavy metals, flame retardants, etc.​ 

• Mandate full transparency and public disclosure of chemicals used in plastic production and in plastic products accessible to the public.​ 

• Limit use and production by eliminating single-use plastics and supporting reuse/refill systems. 

• ​Ban intentionally added nanoplastics and microplastics in all products.​ 

• ​Require microfiber filtration systems in new washing machines. ​ 

• Establish EPA national drinking water standards and mandatory testing for microplastics. 

• ​Add microplastics to the U.S. national biomonitoring program (NHANES).​ 

 

Recent Developments and Successes 

In 2021, a diverse coalition including Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) and the California Yurok tribe sued the EPA(opens in new tab), asserting their responsibility to regulate the toxic flame retardant decaBDE in recycled plastics, wastewater, solid waste, and sewage sludge. Supported by a Project TENDR amicus brief on evidence of harm to children’s brains, the federal court ruled that the EPA must regulate toxic chemicals in recycled plastics in May 2026. Importantly, this establishes a precedent which can be extended to other toxic chemicals in the future. 

 

Project TENDR also recently held a congressional briefing(opens in new tab), co-sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, to share this evidence and urge legislators to keep the Toxic Substances Control Act intact.  

 

Panelists: 

Dr. Carmen Marsit, Rollins SPH at Emory University 

Dr. Susan Schantz, University of Illinois 

Maureen Swanson, Director of Project TENDR 

 

Project TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks) is an alliance of leading scientists, health professionals, and environmental health advocates working to protect children from toxic chemicals and pollutants that harm brain development and contribute to problems with learning, attention, and behavior. They prioritize ending the disproportionate exposures experienced by children of color, Indigenous children, and children in poverty. Their research aims to provide recommendations for essential policy reforms in the new United Nations Global Treaty on Plastics, an ongoing effort to establish a legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution from production and design to disposal. 

 

 For more information, please reference Project TENDR’s plastic briefing paper(opens in new tab). 

 ACAT is thankful for Project TENDR’s continued partnership and collaboration.