How the Exposome and “Invisible Pollution” Impact Human Health––from Microplastics to PFAs
By Thierry Malleret, economist
THE EXPOSOME IMPACTING OUR WELLBEING:
The UN Plastic Treaty talks that just took place in Geneva ended in failure, with petrostates (including the US) and petrochemical producers’ lobby preventing any agreement on the alarming issue of plastics in the environment.
And this despite the stark reminders aired at the summit about the impact of the exposome and its trajectory. The exposome is considered the total exposure to pollutants over the course of our lives and how this exposure affects our health and general wellbeing.
The science is making great progress, and even though it is still at an early stage, we now have a much better understanding of how plastics, forever chemicals (PFAS), air pollution, and ultra-processed foods impact our wellbeing. “Invisible” pollution is everywhere.
- Plastic is contaminating much of what we eat, breathe and touch. We find it in our blood, in our brains, in human sperm and breast milk, and elsewhere in our bodies. The science about what plastic does to human health is still tentative, but there is one certainty: it doesn’t do us any good.
- Endocrine-disrupting PFAs also contaminate much of what we drink and eat, and more generally our environment, increasing our risk of cancer.
- Air pollution and particulate exposure have a health impact now well understood. It includes cardiac conditions, cancer, respiratory diseases, developmental disorders, dementia and Alzheimer’s, and premature birth.
- New research on ultra-processed foods consistently finds a strong association between their high consumption and increased risks of several noncommunicable diseases and all-cause mortality.
The overall conclusion is twofold: (1) We, humans, are intimately and inextricably interconnected with nature: if we destroy it, it will destroy us. (2) Our wellbeing depends on the actions we take, individually (for instance, the effort to control air pollution/quality in the built environment) and collectively.
Many of these actions, though, are beyond our own control. In all the four areas highlighted above, much progress could be achieved via global cooperation and greater regulation. Both are in short supply, the latter due to the vested financial interests of corporations. A telling point: in Geneva 234 oil, petrochemical and plastic lobbyists were present to ensure that no progress was made in curbing plastic production.
Time for the wellness industry to speak more forcefully about these issues and maybe lobby against the lobbyists?
