Center for Environmental Security, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Temple, AZ 85287-5904, USA.
Rev Environ Health. 2013;28(1):1-8. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2012-0030.
Plastics continue to benefit society in innumerable ways, even though recent public focus on plastics has centered mostly on human health and environmental concerns, including their endocrine-disrupting properties and the long-term pollution they represent. The benefits of plastics are particularly apparent in medicine and public health. Plastics are versatile, cost-effective, require less energy to produce than alternative materials like metal or glass, and can be manufactured to have many different properties. Due to these characteristics, polymers are used in diverse health applications like disposable syringes and intravenous bags, sterile packaging for medical instruments as well as in joint replacements, tissue engineering, etc. However, not all current uses of plastics are prudent and sustainable, as illustrated by the widespread, unwanted human exposure to endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), problems arising from the large quantities of plastic being disposed of, and depletion of non-renewable petroleum resources as a result of the ever-increasing mass production of plastic consumer articles. Using the health-care sector as example, this review concentrates on the benefits and downsides of plastics and identifies opportunities to change the composition and disposal practices of these invaluable polymers for a more sustainable future consumption. It highlights ongoing efforts to phase out DEHP and BPA in the health-care and food industry and discusses biodegradable options for plastic packaging, opportunities for reducing plastic medical waste, and recycling in medical facilities in the quest to reap a maximum of benefits from polymers without compromising human health or the environment in the process.
塑料在无数方面继续造福社会，尽管最近公众对塑料的关注主要集中在人类健康和环境问题上，包括其内分泌干扰特性和长期污染。塑料在医学和公共卫生领域的益处尤为明显。塑料用途广泛，具有成本效益，其生产所需的能源比金属或玻璃等替代材料少，并且可以制造出具有许多不同特性的塑料。由于这些特性，聚合物被用于各种健康应用，如一次性注射器和静脉输液袋、医疗器械的无菌包装以及关节置换、组织工程等。然而，并非所有当前的塑料用途都是谨慎和可持续的，例如广泛存在的、不受欢迎的人类接触内分泌干扰双酚 A（BPA）和邻苯二甲酸二-(2-乙基己基)酯（DEHP），大量塑料被丢弃所带来的问题，以及由于越来越多的塑料消费产品的大规模生产而导致不可再生石油资源的枯竭。本文以医疗保健行业为例，重点讨论了塑料的优缺点，并确定了改变这些宝贵聚合物的组成和处理方式的机会，以实现更可持续的未来消费。它强调了在医疗保健和食品行业逐步淘汰 DEHP 和 BPA 的持续努力，并讨论了塑料包装的可生物降解选择、减少塑料医疗废物的机会，以及在医疗设施中的回收利用，以在不损害人类健康或环境的情况下从聚合物中获得最大利益。
