“Despite global treaties to prevent dumping at sea and minimize landbased sources, and increasing efforts worldwide to protect water quality, the quantity of marine debris in the world’s oceans is increasing”
— California Ocean Protection Council
The Legislation - The Toxic Free Oceans Act
California should prioritize the reduction of plastic pollution and associated toxins entering our ocean. SB 899 (Simitian) is key to this effort.
If SB 899 becomes law, it will implement a phased-ban on the most toxic constituents found in plastic packaging, which makes up the majority of trash found in our ocean and beaches.
SB 899 is sponsored by Heal the Bay.
The Problem
Additives are routinely added to plastics to modify their characteristics. Many of these additives, including bisphenol-A, phthalates, styrene, vinyl chloride, and perfluorooctanoate, can be toxic if leached out of the plastics.
Bisphenol-A is the main ingredient in hard polycarbonate plastic. Bisphenol-A is also linked to many health impacts, including hormone-disruption, reproductive abnormalities, lowered sperm count, and prostate cancer.
Perfluorooctanoate is found in the waxy coating of food containers. It has been demonstrated to migrate into food, and is listed as a “likely” human carcinogen by the scientific advisory board to the USEPA.
Phthalates are used to improve flexibility in plastic products and can migrate from polypropylene and other plastics into the contents inside. USEPA lists DEHP, the most ubiquitous phthalate, as a probable human carcinogen; phthalates are also a probable endocrine disruptor.
Styrene is a possible human carcinogen and can leach out of containers into their contents.
Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen and has been linked to liver damage.
Marine Impacts
Because plastic can take more than a hundred years to breakdown, as debris, it presents a persistent and cumulative toxic threat to our oceans and their inhabitants.
California's ocean resources, including marine life, suffer from a multitude of stressors, including land and ocean-based pollution.
Plastic food containers and beverage bottles are consistently some of the most abundant items found in beach clean-ups throughout California.
A study conducted by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in the North Pacific Gyre found six times the mass of plastic particles than plankton in these waters.
Marine life and seabirds can easily confuse plastic marine debris for food. In addition to clogging the digestive system, ingestion of the toxins associated with these plastics is likely to be harmful to marine life.
DEHP, the most ubiquitous phthalate, is found in plants, fish, and other animals.
Styrene, a building block of expanded polystyrene, is a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin that medical evidence, scientific study, as well as the Food and Drug Administration suggest leaches from polystyrene containers into food and beverages. This toxic chemical is found in air, soil, and water.
Marine debris has injured or killed at least 267 species world-wide, primarily through ingestion and entanglement.