Chemical pollution poses “a threat to human and planetary health on the same scale as climate change” but lags decades behind in public awareness and action, a new report has warned.
The industrial economy has produced more than 100 million synthetic “novel entities” – chemicals not found in nature – with between 40,000 and 350,000 in active use. Yet the environmental and health impacts of this contamination are still poorly recognised, despite mounting evidence linking chemical exposure to conditions from ADHD and infertility to cancer.
“I suppose that’s the biggest surprise for some people,” Harry Macpherson, senior climate associate at Deep Science Ventures (DSV), which carried out the research, he said.
“Maybe people think that when you walk down the street breathing the air; you drink your water, you eat your food; you use your personal care products, your shampoo, cleaning products for your house, the furniture in your house; a lot of people assume that there’s really great knowledge and huge due diligence on the chemical safety of these things. But it really isn’t the case.”
The report, funded by the Grantham Foundation, draws on eight months of research, including interviews with scientists, non-profit leaders and investors, alongside a review of hundreds of studies.
It highlights alarming levels of contamination. More than 3,600 synthetic chemicals from food packaging and preparation materials have been detected in human bodies, with 80 classed as high concern. PFAS “forever chemicals” are now so widespread they appear in almost every human tested – and in some places even in rainwater, at levels deemed unsafe to drink. Meanwhile, over 90% of the world’s population breathes air that breaches World Health Organization (WHO) pollution limits.
The health risks are wide-ranging. The report links commonly used chemicals to damage across reproductive, immune, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, liver, kidney and metabolic systems.
“One of the main things that came out quite strongly was links between pesticide exposure and reproductive issues,” said Macpherson. “We saw quite strong links – correlation and causation – for miscarriage and people basically struggling to conceive.”
The findings add to earlier research by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which concluded that humanity has already crossed the “safe boundary” for environmental pollutants, including plastics. Another report this week described a global “plastics crisis”, with production surging and health impacts spanning from infancy to old age.
“The way that we’ve generally done the testing has meant that we’ve missed a lot of effects,” Macpherson said.
The DSV report also criticises current testing and regulation, saying existing checks are failing to protect health. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals – which interfere with hormones – are a particular concern, undermining the traditional assumption that lower doses are always less harmful.
“One of the things is that when you have a chemical which is interfering with the endocrine system, it sometimes has a nonlinear response. So you’ll see that there’ll be a response at a very low dose, which you wouldn’t be able to predict from its behaviour at a high dose.”
DSV, which describes itself as a “venture creator”, hopes the report will highlight opportunities for innovation in tackling the problem. At present, funding for chemical pollution research is only a fraction of that devoted to climate change – a gap the authors say urgently needs closing.
We obviously don’t want less funding going into the climate and the atmosphere,” he said. “But this we think – really, proportionally – needs more attention.”
Despite the scale of the challenge, the report argues that chemical pollution may be more straightforward to address than climate change, given clearer sources and solutions.
“The good thing is that this can be potentially quite easily consumer-driven if people start to worry about things they’re personally buying,” Macpherson said.
“There isn’t necessarily the need for a massive collective action; it can just be demand for safer products, because people want safer products.”
Lead author Macpherson said the research had changed his own habits: he now cooks with cast iron and avoids heating food in plastic.
“Unfortunately, it is a recommendation to eat more organic food, but it is more expensive in general. So at least washing fruit and vegetables before eating them, but organic if you can afford it.”
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