Congressional Democrats target plastics emissions, health impacts

Washington — Some congressional Democrats are putting a new focus on pollutants emitted from plastics production, including in the air and water of surrounding communities, as part of a push to broaden the plastics debate beyond recycling and ocean litter.

The lawmakers, including one Democrat who is closely allied with the plastics and vinyl industries on other legislation, said at a July 7 hearing that Washington needs to look more at health issues like microplastics in the food chain and factory emissions that can harm people living near plastics plants.

The virtual briefing before the U.S. House of Representatives' Oversight Committee also at times became a spirited back-and-forth about the safety of single-use plastics and reusables during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Harley Rouda, D-Calif., for example, questioned an effort by the Plastics Industry Association in March, when it wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking that the federal government make a public statement in favor of single-use plastics.

"While some might proclaim continued reliance on single-use plastics as the safest option to slow or prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it appears that these claims as presented by groups like the Plastics Industry Association are aimed at reaping profits for plastic and petrochemical companies," said Rouda, who chaired the hearing in his role as head of the environment subcommittee.

But the ranking Republican at the hearing, Rep. Fred Keller, R-Pa., defended the industry, arguing that single-use plastics have been a positive during coronavirus. As well, he noted that many plastics companies pivoted their production to make medical gear when the pandemic began.

He praised some by name, including Wisconsin thermoformer Placon Corp., which switched several factories to making face shield components.

"The plastics industry kicked their production of these life-saving products into high gear," Keller said. "Many companies completely transformed their supply chain and production lines to make vast amounts of face shields, masks, surgical gowns, gloves, food and medical packaging."

He also criticized Rouda and other Democrats for what he said was politicizing the issue.

"I think it is shameful for my colleagues on the left to try and politicize a ban on plastics during a time when these very plastics are being used to keep Americans healthy and safe," Keller said.

But Rouda argued that Keller and plastics association President Tony Radoszewski, who also testified at the hearing, were not fully considering the risks surrounding rapidly increasing plastics use in society.

Rouda said plastics clearly have benefits, but he argued that the U.S. plastics recycling rate of 8 percent is too low, as plastics production continues to rise. More plastic was made worldwide in the decade from 2000-10 than the previous 40 years combined, he said.

As well, he raised questions around health, like people inadvertently ingesting a credit card-sized amount of microplastics weekly, or how the air and water pollution from plastics plants contributed to health problems for those who live nearby.

"This is not a left issue, as pointed out in the ranking members comments; this is an American issue," he said.

"To Mr. Radoszewski and ranking member Keller, I do appreciate the observation of how important plastics are in our everyday life as well as combating COVID-19," Rouda said. "But what we're really focused on here is making sure that the production of plastics does not indiscriminately impact certain communities, often communities of color, by literally injuring them and killing them in the production of plastic."

Rouda and other Democrats on the committee sought to link what they said is higher levels of pollution around petrochemical plants with respiratory diseases and health conditions that exacerbate COVID-19.

"The need for today's briefing exists at the nexus of two ongoing public health crises: the coronavirus pandemic and the serious negative health consequences that people in communities across the country are currently facing as a result of our reliance on plastic, especially given this nation's superfluous consumption of single-use plastics," Rouda said.

In other political contexts, Rouda is allied with the industry.

He was one of the lead authors of a bill introduced in October that would seek to open up how local governments select materials for infrastructure projects, the Sustainable Municipal Access to Resilient Technology in Infrastructure Act.

That topic has been a priority for industry groups, and plastics companies see legislation like Rouda's as helping plastic pipe and other building products make inroads against traditional materials like iron and cement.

A news release from Rouda's office announcing that legislation included lengthy quotes from Radoszewski and the heads of the Vinyl Institute and the American Chemistry Council.

At the hearing, Radoszewski noted the role of plastics in manufacturing single-use PPE for health care workers and devices like ventilators, and he noted that the federal government and states considered plastics companies essential industries during coronavirus shutdowns, allowing them to continue operating.

Broadly speaking, he told the briefing that plastics are being used in so many more products because they require less energy and other resources over their life cycle than competing materials.

"At a briefing about plastic health and the environment, let's not forget how much easier our lives are because of plastics, how much safer we are, [and] that jobs and paychecks are a health issue, too," Radoszewski said, noting that the industry U.S. directly employs nearly 1 million people.

He pointed to industry support for legislation in Congress, the Recover Act, to allocate up to $1 billion for recycling programs. But under questioning from one Democrat, Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., he acknowledged challenges around recycling.

"The recycling rate of plastics is horrible, I'll be the first to admit it," Radoszewski said, adding that major brands like Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. plan to use a lot more recycled content and that industry is investing in recycling technology.

"Our challenge is collecting it," he said.

Other witnesses at the hearing sought to connect plastics production with health problems.

Judith Enck, the head of the group Beyond Plastics and a former regional administration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that higher levels of air pollution means people are less able to fight off diseases like the coronavirus.

She said regulatory agencies like EPA do not give enough weight to cumulative impacts of exposure to several pollutants or the impact of living near many factories, looking at impacts too often in isolation, she said.

Yvette Arellano, a policy researcher with Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services in Houston, said her group has been tracking rising emissions from plastics production on the Gulf Coast.

The emissions cause health problems in the community ranging from headaches and nausea to skin conditions and cancer, she said. And Arellano suggested local residents are suffering those health harms in part because of the plastic resin industry's export boom.

"We can't ignore that damaging emissions related to plastic production, much of which is headed towards foreign markets, is part of the problem," she said.

The briefing is a sign of attempts by Democrats in Congress to link plastics to broader issues, like climate change. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, introduced by Democratic lawmakers earlier this year, was wrapped into a large climate plan unveiled June 30 by a special committee set up by House Democrats.