India, Jan. 27 -- The adverse health impacts linked to emissions across the full life cycle of plastics could double by 2040 unless urgent action is taken, according to new research.

The study finds that plastics harm human health at every stage of their life cycle - from the extraction of fossil fuels, which provide feedstocks for more than 90% of plastics, through manufacturing and use, to disposal or release into the environment.

Led by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in collaboration with the University of Toulouse and the University of Exeter, the study used modelling to compare health impacts under different future scenarios of plastics production, consumption and waste management between ...