Plastic Additives Market Transformation: Shifting Towards Eco-Friendly Solutions
Plastic Additives: Examining the Role of Additives in Shaping Material Properties and Applications


Understanding what goes into plastics

Modern plastics contain a variety of chemical additives that are added during the manufacturing process to enhance performance or prolong the lifespan of plastic products. However, many of these additives raise health concerns that consumers may not be aware of. This article explores some of the main additives used in plastics and the potential issues associated with them.

Phthalates

One class of additives used widely in plastics is phthalates. These chemicals are added to plastic to increase their flexibility and durability. Phthalates are used in products such as vinyl flooring, plastic toys, medical tubing, blood storage containers and more. Studies have linked certain phthalates to health effects such as reproductive issues, birth defects, respiratory problems, hormonal imbalances and cancer. In toys and childcare items, phthalates are especially concerning given how children interact with products through mouthing. The European Union has banned certain phthalates from toys and childcare items, but they remain legal in many other products in the U.S. and Canada.

Bisphenol A (BPA)

Another familiar plastic additive is bisphenol A or BPA. This chemical is used in hard, clear plastics and in the linings of food and beverage cans. It makes plastics shatter-resistant and durable. The main health concern with BPA is that it mimics the hormone estrogen once inside the body. Numerous studies link BPA exposure to reproductive issues, heart disease, diabetes, neurological problems and more. BPA easily leaches out of plastics and into food and drink. In 2012, the FDA banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups in the U.S. due to health risks. However, BPA remains legal in other food packaging.

Flame Retardants

Flame retardant chemicals are added to plastics, textiles, electronics and other materials to meet flammability standards and regulations. One category of flame retardants, called PBDEs, bioaccumulate in human tissues and breastmilk. Studies link them to reproductive and developmental harm as well as damage to thyroid function. Another class of flame retardants called chlorinated Tris was banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1977 after being linked to cancer. However, the chemical industry continues to produce alternative flame retardants of uncertain safety. Their health effects are difficult to properly assess partly due to industry secrecy around chemical identities and health data.

Metal Compounds

Plastics also frequently include heavy metals that pose health and environmental concerns in some applications. For example, plastic food packaging may contain compounds with antimony, which is a metalloid linked to reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption. Some plastics like PVC piping contain compounds like lead stabilizers. The heavy metal lead remains a development neurotoxin even at low levels of exposure. While banning heavy metals is preferable, product reformulations often prompt regulators and legislation to merely lower permitted concentrations rather than eliminate them altogether.

Impacts on Vulnerable Groups

Certain populations appear especially vulnerable to harm from plastic additives and their byproducts. Fetuses, infants and children face greater risks due to their developing organ systems and ability to metabolize and excrete toxins. Food contact with plastics poses dangers when plastic chemicals migrate into ingested foods and drinks. One study even detected BPA in the placental tissues of pregnant women. Workers in plastic manufacturing facilities face direct occupational hazards, and epidemiological studies link some plastic worker cancers and other adverse health outcomes to chemical exposures on the job. Overall, a paradigm shift towards inherently safer plastic materials requires major reforms in industry and government policies.

Greenwashing and Lack of Accountability

In summary, the hidden health impacts of plastic additives illustrate important gaps that future policies and safer product innovations ought to address. Full chemical transparency, rigorous independent safety testing before widespread use, and emphasis on non-toxic alternative materials wherever practicable would better protect vulnerable groups at developing stages. Achieving genuinely safer plastics also depends on reforming industry lobbying influence and empowering consumers with right-to-know laws and informed choices. By shedding light on additive components and associated concerns, more accountable approaches to plastic chemical management can help minimize troubling health legacies moving forward.

EU Sets Harshest Russian Sanctions, Targeting Oil and Insurance:

The European Union is set to impose its toughest sanctions yet on Russia, banning imports of its oil and blocking insurers from covering its cargoes of crude, officials and diplomats say, as the West seeks to deprive Moscow of cash it needs to fund the war on Ukraine and keep its economy functioning.

The sanctions, which are expected to be completed in the coming days, are harsher than expected. The ban on insurers will cover tankers carrying Russian oil anywhere in the world. These sanctions could undercut Russia’s efforts to sell its oil in Asia. European companies insure most of the world’s oil trade.

The embargo is a high-risk strategy for the EU, forcing the bloc to break its dependency on cheap Russian energy. It is likely to fuel inflation already running at the highest pace in decades on both sides of the Atlantic.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann 'unhappy' with transport dept decision to ban use of 'motorcycle rehri':

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is learnt to be quite “unhappy” with the recent decision of the state Transport department banning the use of ‘motorcycle rehri’.

Motorcycle ‘rehris’ were used by underprivileged sections to ferry small quantity of goods, either for sale or for their personal consumption.

The move to ban their use had drawn public ire.

Sources said the order could be reversed soon.

Bhagwant Mann Orders 'Jugad Rehris' Will Not Be Banned:

A day after his government faced flak from the opposition parties over its earlier decision on 'jugad rehris', Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday directed that the carts made up of old motorbikes would not be banned.

Mr Mann also expressed his displeasure over the earlier order banning 'jugad rehris' and summoned the officers of the transport department and unequivocally told them that his government has been formed for giving employment to the poor and not for snatching it from them.

Mr Mann said the contentious order must be withdrawn and warned that stern action would be taken for any such laxity in future. He also sought a detailed report from them.

"Thousands of people in Punjab earn their livelihood from motorcycle 'rehri'. After summoning a meeting of the department, I have ordered that no motor 'rehri' should be banned. Our government's aim is to provide employment to all, not to deprive anyone of it," Mr Mann said in a tweet.

Russia-Ukraine War:

A top official in the global campaign against the use of land mines is urging Russia to halt the use in Ukraine of these weapons that too often kill and maim civilians.
Alicia Arango Olmos, Colombia’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and this year’s president of the state parties to the 1997 convention banning the production and use of land mines, expressed deep concern at media reports that Russia is using land mines in its war in Ukraine.
She pointed to Human Rights Watch which said on March 29 that Ukrainian explosive ordnance disposal technician located banned ant-personnel mines in the eastern Kharkiv region a day earlier.

Sikh Policy:

The Sikh Empire was idiosyncratic in that it allowed men from religions other than their own to rise to commanding positions of authority.

The Fakir brothers were trusted personal advisors and assistants as well as close friends to Ranjit Singh, particularly Fakir Azizuddin, who would serve in the positions of foreign minister of the empire and translator for the maharaja, and played important roles in such important events as the negotiations with the British, during which he convinced Ranjit Singh to maintain diplomatic ties with the British and not to go to war with them in 1808, as British troops were moved along the Sutlej in pursuance of the British policy of confining Ranjit Singh to the north of the river, and setting the Sutlej as the dividing boundary between the Sikh and British empires; negotiating with Dost Muhammad Khan during his unsuccessful attempt to retake Peshawar, and ensuring the succession of the throne during the maharaja's last days in addition to caretaking after a stroke, as well as occasional military assignments throughout his career. The Fakir brothers were introduced to the maharaja when their father, Ghulam Muhiuddin, a physician, was summoned by him to treat an eye ailment soon after his capture of Lahore.

The other Fakir brothers were Imamuddin, one of his principal administration officers, and Nuruddin, who served as home minister and personal physician, were also granted jagirs by the Maharaja.

Every year, while at Amritsar, Ranjit Singh visited shrines of holy people of other faiths, including several Muslim saints, which did not offend even the most religious Sikhs of his administration. As relayed by Fakir Nuruddin, orders were issued to treat people of all faith groups, occupations,and social levels equally and in accordance with the doctrines of their faith, per the Shastras and the Quran, as well as local authorities like judges and panches (local elder councils), as well as banning forcible possession of others' land or of inhabited houses to be demolished. There were special courts for Muslims which ruled in accordance to Muslim law in personal matters, and common courts preceded over by judicial officers which administered justice under the customary law of the districts and socio-ethnic groups, and were open to all who wanted to be governed by customary religious law, whether Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim.

One of Ranjit Singh's first acts after the 1799 capture of Lahore was to revive the offices of the hereditary Qazis and Muftis which had been prevalent in Mughal times. Kazi Nizamuddin was appointed to decide marital issues among Muslims, while Muftis Mohammad Shahpuri and Sadulla Chishti were entrusted with powers to draw up title-deeds relating to transfers of immovable property. The old mohalladari[definition needed] system was reintroduced with each mahallah, or neighborhood subdivision, placed under the charge of one of its members. The office of Kotwal, or prefect of police, was conferred upon a Muslim, Imam Bakhsh.

Generals were also drawn from a variety of communities, along with prominent Sikh generals like Hari Singh Nalwa, Fateh Singh Dullewalia, Nihal Singh Atariwala, Chattar Singh Attariwalla, and Fateh Singh Kalianwala; Hindu generals included Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar, his son, and his grandson, and Misr Diwan Chand Nayyar; and Muslim generals included Ilahi Bakhsh and Mian Ghaus Khan; one general, Balbhadra Kunwar, was a Nepalese Gurkha, and European generals included Jean-Francois Allard, Jean-Baptiste Ventura, and Paolo Avitabile. other notable generals of the Sikh Khalsa Army were Veer Singh Dhillon, Sham Singh Attariwala, Mahan Singh Mirpuri, and Zorawar Singh Kahluria, among others.

The appointment of key posts in public offices was based on merit and loyalty, regardless of the social group or religion of the appointees, both in and around the court, and in higher as well as lower posts. Key posts in the civil and military administration were held by members of communities from all over the empire and beyond, including Sikhs, Muslims, Khatris, Brahmins, Dogras, Rajputs, Pashtuns, Europeans, and Americans, among others, and worked their way up the hierarchy to attain merit. Dhian Singh, the prime minister, was a Dogra, whose brothers Gulab Singh and Suchet Singh served in the high-ranking administrative and military posts, respectively. Brahmins like finance minister Raja Dina Nath, Sahib Dyal, and others also served in financial capacities.

Muslims in prominent positions included the Fakir brothers, Kazi Nizamuddin, and Mufti Muhammad Shah, among others. Among the top-ranking Muslim officers there were two ministers, one governor and several district officers; there were 41 high-ranking Muslim officers in the army, including two generals and several colonels, and 92 Muslims were senior officers in the police, judiciary, legal department and supply and store departments. In artillery Muslims represented over 50% of the numbers while the cavalry had some 10% Muslims from among the troopers.

Thus, the government was run by an elite corps drawn from many communities, giving the empire the character of a secular system of government, even when built on theocratic foundations.

A ban on cow slaughter, which can be related to Hindu sentiments, was universally imposed in the Sarkar Khalsaji. Ranjit Singh also donated large amounts of gold for the plating of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple's dome.

US bans Russian oil, gas and coal imports, Know Impact on India:

US President Joe Biden on March 8, 2022 announced a complete ban on all Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports to the United States, in an effort to impose harsher sanctions amid Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Biden said in his address that the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy. “We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine," he said.

The United States has banned oil and energy imports from Russia in a unilateral move. The European nations are yet to follow suit, with some of them including Denmark pledging to become independent of Russian natural gas.

Albania will rename a street in its capital Tirana where the Russian and Ukrainian embassies are located as Free Ukraine to honour Ukraine's resistance to war, the mayor said on Sunday.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO member Albania has joined other European countries in introducing economic sanctions and banning Russian aircraft from its air space.

"Our generation will be marked by this bloody Russian aggression, and the heroic resistance of Ukraine should be remembered in our public places," Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj told Reuters.

Gurdwaras Flourish:

Shah Jahan had ordered all newly built Hindu temples to be demolished, banning the construction of any new ones. This order specifically targeted any temples with murtis (idols) in them. As the Sikh faith does not allow idol-worship the Emperor's orders did not hinder the flourishing of Sikh pursuits and the buildings of new Gurdwaras. Consequently, for four years, Guru Har Rai travelled across the Punjab unhindered, visiting most of the sacred sites. He stayed in Amritsar for about six months. Bhai Kala, a village head and ardent devotee, presented his half-naked orphan nephews, Phool and Sandly, to the Guru. Seeing the children, obviously malnourished, Guru Har Rai bestowed them with a prophecy that their descendants would rule the area between the rivers Satluj and Jamuna. The prophecy came true with the formation of the Phulkian States - Patiala, Nabha, and Jind.

US President Joe Biden signed into law a bill banning goods from China’s Xinjiang region unless companies can prove they aren’t made with forced labor, a move that will add to tensions over Beijing’s treatment of the nation’s Uyghur minority.
The bill passed with unanimous backing in both the House and Senate earlier this month, showcasing how Republicans and Democrats are largely aligned on China policy despite Washington’s deep partisan divisions on most major issues.