The celebrations for World Environment Day, which will have its epicenter in the Republic of Korea, are approaching, and the need to eradicate plastic pollution is a fundamental theme again.

The issue, which may seem distant or "exaggerated" in the face of ignorance, is of transcendental importance because we are surrounded by plastic everywhere, lacking (at least in Latin America) effective and environmentally friendly policies in this regard, while we see recent research on its impact on the quality of life of men and women today.

We talked about this with Dr. Alejandro Mestre Barroso, the province's leading specialist in Toxicology. "Plastic is everywhere. Its physical and chemical characteristics mean that, because it is very moldable, it can be used in many things, ranging from chairs to tables, glasses, pipes, and endless kinds of uses.

"They say that it began to be used through a contest that was held in the United States to eliminate billiard balls, which were previously made of ivory. There, they presented the first polymer derived from it, and from then on, others began to emerge and become extremely popular.

"Then, depending on the type of degradation, it has been determined what they can be used for; in correspondence with that, the toxicity they have for humans and the environment is defined."

"The classifications (see infographic) range from 1 to 7. Each of them contains chemical substances that, when interacting with the environment, can be extremely harmful to health. And, although this was suspected, until very recently human beings did not have the necessary scientific techniques to determine the interrelationship between plastic and disease."

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Dr. Alejandro affirms that the main studies on the resource and its effects have been focused on Asia, and he said that there and in Europe, the regulations issued to reverse its presence have had a greater impact.

He also clarified that knowledge cannot be circumscribed to the components of plastic, but that it is necessary to pay attention to its degradation processes and the synthetic exchange that takes place while it goes through different stages, and becomes microplastics and nanoparticles.

"Until 2023, it was thought that this microplastic entered the digestive system and then we defecated it, but research conducted in China that year found traces in lung tissue, for example."

"A few months later, a study was made of atheroma plaques in the cardiovascular system, and it turns out that 45 percent had plastic; and of that percentage, 35 percent of all plaque was microplastic. Thus, it was confirmed that it enters the bloodstream and, from there, is distributed throughout the body."

"Its presence has been found at the cerebral and digestive levels, and this has opened the debate on the correlation between the presence of these plastics in target organs and the increase in neurodegenerative, oncoproliferative, and immunosuppressive diseases."

"And not only that. Until very recently, it was thought that plastic micro- and nanoparticles did not enter the plant system, until recent studies have shown that they affect the capacity for photosynthesis; they can also enter through their roots and also through the leaves."

"The consequences are obvious; they grow less and affect plants. This means that reproduction can be affected, for example, of corn, rice, and other related crops by four to 14 percent, which would mean around 17 billion tons of these productions in the world."

As if that were not enough, studies affirm that the average person ingests the equivalent of one plastic credit card a week. In Cuba, a country with a valuable scientific arsenal, but blocked, going through an unprecedented crisis in its revolutionary history, and amid the rigor of the Third World, this issue has very unique implications.

"In our region, countries like Argentina and Chile are already advocating the substitution of single-use plastic (1). In Cuba, which has its development goals well outlined until 2030, they also advocate reducing and/or eliminating plastic from that classification; there arises the need to find a substitute that is environmentally friendly, biodegradable."

The physician talks about the need to raise awareness on these topics and make knowledge the most powerful weapon for life. He says that we are all responsible and that no one should be left out, not even the so-called plasticizers, who are, in the opinion of many, at the center of the debate.

"They solve a problem, because they prevent plastic that has already been discarded from returning to landfills, and give it a use value. They are not the enemy, what we have to do is create culture within them and redirect their remit."

"Better than glasses and toys is that they dedicate themselves to what is called eco-wood or other decorative purposes, to make mudguards for motorcycles, for example, and appliances of this profile."

"The manufacturing process that these people use is very complex because what they do is crush the plastics in open spaces, where there is air circulation, but, while manufacturing, they pour micro-substances into the environment; therefore, they are a focus of environmental and also labor pollution because, while working, they are inhaling and absorbing by all routes the micro-particles."

"From there, they reuse that preparation as a moldable object, at temperatures that are not always constant, they put them in molds, and then take them out. A chemical reaction takes place there that can give rise to new substances and promote existing ones. It is complex and dangerous."

The doctor considers that the existing regulations are not enough (the same by CITMA as by ONAT) to regulate the work they do, and he called to attend to these issues in a constant and rigorous way.

"For example, you buy a well in the ‘cuevita’ of Las Tunas, you keep it in the house and, after a year, you take it out of the nylon. The first thing that comes to you is a tremendous hydrocarbon odor, and the second thing you notice is that it is becoming unpeeling. That is the result of an incomplete chemical reaction that comes into contact with the food or whatever it is that we keep in the well. Do you understand that?

Thus, as sharp as his word, was the certainty of the silent and daily damage to which we are exposed everywhere; in the knob of soda that became water in the house, and we fill it again and again, passing it from cold to heat; in the plates and cups of the birthday party that we keep from one year to another, because we do not know that they are of a single use; and in many other things that we become, victims of habit and shortages, our silent killers.