Climate change, destruction of the ozone layer, deforestation, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, nitrogen cycle or chemical pollution are some of the environmental problems that threaten the health of the planet. They are known as planetary limits, one concept established in 2009 by the team led by johan rockstrom in Stockholm Resilience Center (CRS).
Once detected, scientists established a series of variables and thresholds that in theory should not be exceeded to maintain Earth’s stability for the past 10,000 years. of the nine Limits identified, four of them have already been overcome, according to a study published in Science in 2015 and led by Will Stefan, gives Australian National University.
The study made it possible to evaluate for the first time the effect of the cocktail of synthetic chemicals that flood the environment
However, at that time some limits, such as the chemical compounds, could not be quantified due to lack of information. “Now that has changed”, tells SINC Patricia Villarubia Gomez, PhD candidate at the SRC at Stockholm University, Sweden, and co-author of a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The investigation, led by Person Linn from the Stockholm Environmental Institute, takes a step forward in the analysis of new entities and chemical contamination, and allowed to evaluate for the first time the effect of the cocktail of synthetic chemicals that flood the environment. The results reveal that humanity has crossed a planetary threshold related to environmental pollutants, including plastics.
“We focused on documenting the concern for planetary security as a result of the overproduction and release of synthetic substances such as plastics, pesticides, flame retardants and other industrial chemicals; as well as natural materials that are mobilized as a result of human activities”, highlights Villarrubia Gómez.
Antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals are also added to them. There are around 350,000 different types of manufactured chemicals on the world market, created by humans with largely unknown effects on the Earth system. Significant volumes of these new entities enter the environment each year.
Persistent compounds in the environment
“Chemical production has increased 50 times since 1950. triple again in 2050”, comments the co-author. The production of plastic alone increased by 79% between 2000 and 2015, according to the team.
Chemical production has increased 50 times since 1950. Projected to triple again by 2050
Patricia Villarubia Gomez
Currently, as some of these contaminants can be extremely persistentThey can be found all over the planet, from the Arctic to Antarctica. Their presence causes negative impacts on Earth systems, including biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles.
“The rate of appearance of these pollutants in the environment far exceeds the ability of governments to assess global and regional risks, let alone control potential problems”, highlights the co-author Bethany Carney Almroth, from the University of Gothenburg.
Plastics, the biggest polluters
Scientists have focused in part on studying plastic pollution for several reasons. “The amount of the total mass of plastics that was produced already exceeds the total mass amount of all existing mammals”, says Villarrubia Gómez. Furthermore, the buildings and infrastructure created (which contain plastics and thousands upon thousands of synthetic chemicals) exceed the mass of all existing trees and shrubs, according to a recent study.
“There is increasing scientific evidence that points to a major concern. Today, we know that there are multiple reasons why chemicals and plastics have a negative impact on the health of our planet, and that this is mainly due to the way we use them on a daily basis”, stresses the scientific study. .
The impacts of these substances occur at all stages of their life cycle, causing problems in each of the processes.
THE negative impacts of these chemicals are produced at all stages of their life cycle, causing problems in each of the processes – from the extraction of raw material, its transformation and industrialization, through the very use of the products – until they are discarded as waste.
Furthermore, in the case of plastics, “we know that there is a direct link with climate change, as at least 98% of virgin plastics are a product derived from the production of fossil fuels such as gasoline or natural gas, which associated with large of COtwo to the atmosphere, as well as contamination of water bodies and soil”, he points out.
Towards a circular economy
With this work, the scientists ask them to take Actions urgently reduce the harm associated with chemicals and synthetic plastics by controlling and limiting their production. “We believe that we will still arrive in time to reverse the damage caused if we carry out ambitious and concrete actions”, says Villarrubia Gómez.
We believe that we will still arrive in time to reverse the damage caused if we carry out ambitious and concrete actions.
Patricia Villarubia Gomez
“When it’s time to act, researchers are convinced that these results can inform governments and intergovernmental institutions to make science-based decisions,” he adds. Until now, new chemicals, as well as new ways of using existing ones, have reached markets with such speed that they far exceed the ability of government agencies to assess and control related impacts.
Faced with this situation of extreme mismatch between production and evaluation indices, the team suggests that “working towards a true circular economy changing the design of materials and products, designing new ones that can be recyclable and improving their safety and sustainability control”, details the author.
They also propose to establish fixed quotas for the production and release of chemical products, “as is being done to try to control climate change through quotas for the emission of greenhouse gases”. For the scientist, “the changes we are creating on our planet will end up having a continuous and cumulative impact on us if we do not take urgent action”, she concludes.
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