A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics

A statement by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) calling for urgent federal action to address the public health crisis caused by plastic pollution, microplastics, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

• Plastic pollution is described as a public health crisis linked to increased rates of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, endocrine disruption, reproductive disorders, and cancers. Of the more than 16,000 chemicals found in plastics, over 2,400 are identified as being of serious health concern.
• PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," are found in the blood of 98.5% of people in Canada. These chemicals, used in clothing, cookware, and food packaging, are associated with high cholesterol, liver and kidney damage, immune suppression, reproductive harms, and cancer.
• Microplastics and PFAS interact as microplastics can carry PFAS and other toxins, either because PFAS are added during production or because microplastics absorb them from the environment. Microplastics have been detected in human blood, lungs, liver, and placenta.
• Plastic pollution has significant global climate and economic impacts; if plastic were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter. By 2040, plastics could use 19% of the global carbon budget. A 2023 UN report estimates that treating pollution and illnesses related to plastics costs up to USD $600 billion annually.
• CAPE and the Coalition for Action on Toxics urge the Canadian federal government to phase out non-essential PFAS, stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, invest in health impact research and monitoring, and regulate toxic plastic additives under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

APA

Kurdi, L. (2025). A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/protecting-our-health-from-plastic-pollution-and-toxic-chemicals/

Chicago

Kurdi, Loujain. A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2025. https://cape.ca/protecting-our-health-from-plastic-pollution-and-toxic-chemicals/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kurdi |first1=Loujain |title=A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=29 September 2025 |url=https://cape.ca/protecting-our-health-from-plastic-pollution-and-toxic-chemicals/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kurdi2025physicians, author = {Kurdi, Loujain}, title = {{A physicians’ call for urgent federal action on PFAS and plastics}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://cape.ca/protecting-our-health-from-plastic-pollution-and-toxic-chemicals/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }