is the most common plastic in the world. You touch it every day of your life.
THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS include
highly inflammable/explosive raw materials
workers report a wide range of illnesses from headaches, skin irritation and nausea, to colo-rectal cancer and 'meat-wrapper's asthma'.
contains a range of additives - UV and heat stabilisers, antioxidants, antiblocking agents, colorants, blowing agents and fillers. flame retardants are also used as these plastics are highly flammable.
can contain both brominate and chlorinated flame retardants, which are capable of giving off dioxins.
Heavy metals, such as lead powders, are used as fillers in polyethylene an polypropylene. Leaching of these additives in landfill sites is a problem. But when these plastics are thermally degraded (ie., burnt) various volatile compounds are generated.
Two of these compounds, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, are listed as carcinogenic. In all, 44 different compounds from polyethylene have been identified. The most common plastic in the world.
As these plastics are, by nature, highly flammable, during combustion carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hyrocarbons are given off. If flame retardants are present, highly corrosive acids are formed.
