HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0664.063 2014-2016 Murashige, Laura
From: Henry Carson <yippiekayyeh@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2016 7:47 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Support for Bill 140
Esteemed Councilmembers, :
I am writing to add my support for Bill 140, the EPS foam transition/reduction. I have studied the issue
plastic pollution for many years, including several studies on the Big Island. One of our studies demo'ntrated
that significant amounts of plastic pollution enter the ocean from Hilo waterways, and that pollution can land
nearby, or on "junk beach" at South Point, or can land on other islands in about a week. Polystyrene foam is a
particularly troubling part of that pollution because it breaks down into microplastic so quickly and readily.
With some other commonly-used products, such as a water bottle, at least there is time to potentially intervene
and pick up the bottle (at one of our beach parks for instance) before it breaks down and enters the ecosystem.
With disposable foam containers, however, the polymer and associated chemical additives begin to enter the
ecosystem almost immediately, with largely unknown consequences that scientists are only now beginning to
unravel.
With so many viable alternatives to foamed polystyrene available, this bill will have immediate positive impacts
with little economic downside. Another immediate impact will be a reduction in plastic additives introduced
into the food that often is placed inside the containers, and eventually introduced into the human body. Hot or
spicy (acidic) foods are especially good at leaching chemical additives from plastic. Even water, when left too
long in a plastic bottle, begins to leach the additives. We don't need science to tell us this; we've all tasted that
"plastic" taste in older bottles before.
Although I admit that the links between these additives and poor health in humans is not conclusive, the simple
truth is that there is no requirement for the additives in EPS to be tested before they are used to contain food.
The list of potential additives is so long that health researchers could not possibly keep up and study each one,
especially since many potential health effects would build up over years. It took researchers decades to unearth
the problems with Bisphenol-A(BPA) and get bans in place. One thing we do know conclusively from the BPA
experience is that many plastic additives are not inert, food-safe materials. A much simpler and safer alternative
than all the tests and uncertainty would be to switch from using plastics to contain hot or acidic food.
I would be happy to discuss these concerns further, however for the sake of brevity I will conclude by simply
urging you to pass Bill 140, for both the short-term and long-term health of the island's ecosystems and people.
Mahalo,
Dr. Hank Carson, PhD
Marine Ecology
Corium. No. (14.4
Ref. TozG.V .
Ref. Date MAY 03 2016
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