14. The Quiet Revolution in Plastics

Environmental Politics and Law (EVST 255) Plastics are omnipresent but minimally understood and regulated in the United States. The lecture focuses on the dangers that chemicals in plastics pose to human health, particularly via leaching into food and water. Plastics are regulated by the Toxic Substance Control Act, which gives the Environmental Protection Agency the responsibility of testing to ensure that plastics do not adversely affect human health. When plastics can leach into food, the Food and Drug Administration can demand testing. Professor Wargo shows how oversights have led to limited labeling of hazardous plastics, which results in consumers having limited means of protecting themselves from harm. 00:00 – Chapter 1. An Introduction to The Plastics Problem 06:49 – Chapter 2. Plastics: Omnipresent in Everyday Life 33:05 – Chapter 3. Where Does All that Plastic Go? 43:49 – Chapter 4. How Plastics Have Escaped Regulation Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2010.