A growing body of evidence has exposed the toxic life-cycle of plastics. With a focus on plastic additives and their impacts on health and well-being, this interactive session will engage with scientific knowledge, precautionary policy, and the grounded expertise of affected communities on plastics chemicals as a key aspect of the INC-4 treaty negotiations. Featuring leading scientists and environmental health advocates, the panel will discuss the health, socioeconomic, and environmental injustice impacts of plastics chemicals, including links to cancer, endocrine disruption, and effects on child health, as well as the role of plastic pollution in accumulating and transporting contaminants in the environment. Panelists will link the health impacts of plastics and microplastic pollution to issues of safer substitution, market transformation, and the public health approaches needed to drive a more precautionary approach to reduce plastic chemical proliferation and exposures. An interactive discussion following the panel presentations will focus on sharing and highlighting the latest science, public education, and community advocacy driving a precautionary approach to plastics chemicals.

Presenters:

• Pamela Miller, Global Co-Chair, International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)
• Jo Banner, Co-Founder and Co-Director, The Descendants Project
• Christos Symeonides, Clinical and Research Specialist, Minderoo Foundation
• Bruce Lanphear, Professor, Simon Fraser University
• Erica Phipps, Executive Director, Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment