The Plastic Problem Black Men Can’t Ignore
For generations, environmental justice in Black America has been measured in asthma rates, cancer diagnoses and poisoned drinking water. Scientists now say another consequence may be emerging: chemicals and microscopic plastics omnipresent in everyday life could be harming Black men’s fertility.
Researchers have found that Black men tend to have elevated levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic or block hormones, due to their presence in consumer products and certain foods. Besides contributing to lower fertility rates, researchers have linked those chemicals, along with microplastics, to other health issues disproportionately found in Black men, like prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.
But in the U.S., studies on environmental exposure and male reproductive health focuses almost exclusively on white men. That’s despite the fact that Black men are more likely to live in areas with heavier concentration of facilities that emit microplastics, harmful chemicals and other forms of pollution that researchers have found affect testicular health and sperm production rates.
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Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, says the issue of microplastics and similar health threats are the Black community’s modern-day civil rights issue. Evidence that pollution is now affecting men’s reproductive health, he says, should be a call to arms.
“The plastic epidemic is not a “right” or “left” issue; it’s a ‘you’ issue, a ‘me’ issue, and quite plainly a global issue,” says Yearwood. “Plastics are, in fact, taking over the planet, and they don’t discriminate.”
“As Black men, we’re fighting enough battles when it comes to our health. We shouldn’t also have to worry about plastics and toxic chemicals making their way into our bodies,” Yearwood told Word In Black.
A Worldwide Problem
An astounding 450 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide each year. And nearly one-quarter of it ends up in the environment, where they very slowly degrade into microscopic pieces. Science has confirmed that these particles may be buried in landfills or released into the atmosphere, but they don’t stay outside the body.
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The issue is especially relevant because so many Black neighborhoods are “fenceline communities” — places where industrial facilities, like manufacturing plants, airports or military bases, have been built.
Black Americans are 75% more likely than white Americans to live next to industrial facilities that generate noise, odor, increase traffic or spew emissions that directly affect the population. Besides microplastic particles, those facilities also emit chemical additives that leach from plastics and have been directly linked to hormonal disruption and reduced male fertility.
A 2023 peer-reviewed Harvard study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that communities with higher proportions of Black and Latino residents are significantly more likely to be exposed to dangerous PFAS levels — so-called forever chemicals — in their water.
The researchers link this finding to the high number of major industrial facilities, from factories to military bases, located near watersheds serving these communities. Each facility was associated with an increase in certain PFAS compounds higher than 100% in some cases.
These chemicals find their way into drinking water and hit Black communities hardest.
Studies have found microplastics in human testicular tissue, a condition associated with lower sperm counts. Black men face higher rates of prostate cancer and cardiovascular issues. Microplastics and endocrine disruptors have been shown to worsen these conditions.
Black men have also been found to have elevated levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic or block hormones, due to their presence in consumer products and certain foods. But in U.S. studies on environmental exposure and male reproductive health more than 80% of study participants are white while just 2% to 10% are Black Americans.
Chemical Disruptors
Another landmark 2023 study published in the journal Toxicological Sciences found microplastics in human testicular tissue and were associated with lower sperm counts. These chemicals act as endocrine disruptors that interfere or reduce sperm quality and lower testosterone.
And in 2014, a study found microplastics in heart arteries. Black men die from cardiovascular disease at a rate 38% higher than men in the overall population.
Dr. Robert Bullard, widely regarded as one of the fathers of the environmental justice movement, has documented this disparity for decades. In his 1990 book, “Dumping in Dixie,” and other works, Bullard established that industrial facilities and toxic waste disposal in Black communities is a deliberate policy decision — not an accident. While white communities experience “pollution advantage,” compared to communities of color no community … should be allowed to become a ‘sacrifice zone’ or dumping ground.”
Yearwood’s organization has been fighting for climate justice and environmental justice for two decades. But there’s more work to be done.
“We’ve seen what pollution has done in places like Cancer Alley. Families have suffered, communities have been devastated, and the effects last for generations,” Yearwood adds. “Protecting our health means standing up to the industries polluting our air and water and understanding that environmental justice is a matter of survival. We can’t pour into our families and communities while being poisoned from the inside out.”
Reducing Your Exposure
The good news is that there are steps individuals can take to reduce their microplastic load.
1. Choose tap water over bottled water. A study cited by the NRDC found that people who drink bottled water ingest substantially more microplastics annually than those who drink tap water. Those who consume beverages in plastic packaging also show higher microplastic levels in stool. Use filtered tap water when possible; a reverse osmosis or activated carbon filter reduces particles further.
2. Don’t microwave food in plastic. Scientists have confirmed that heating food in plastic packaging or containers releases plastic particles and chemicals into food. Transfer food to glass or ceramic before microwaving.
3. Replace plastic kitchenware. Plastic cutting boards, bowls, blenders, electric kettles, and sponges all introduce microplastics into food. Alternatives include stainless steel, glass, ceramic, bamboo, and stoneware. Bamboo cutting boards in particular have been shown not to transfer microplastics to food.
4. Choose natural fiber clothing and furnishings. Synthetic textiles shed plastic microfibers continuously — during wear and especially during laundering. Indoor dust in spaces dominated by synthetic carpets and upholstery carries higher microplastic concentrations. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, and bamboo are the recommended alternatives. Check labels carefully, as synthetics are often blended into natural-fiber products.
5. Replace nonstick cookware. Nonstick pans coated with PTFE (Teflon) release millions of microplastics and nanoplastics during cooking. Notably, those particles are also PFAS — toxic “forever chemicals.” The NRDC recommends switching to stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic cookware.
Source: National Resources Defense Council
Based on reporting by Seattle Medium.
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