Yavuz Eroğlu-pagev 1. Vice President, SEM plastic general manager

One of the most important issues of plastic packaging manufacturers ,perhaps most importantly , is the unfortunate claims that plastics may be carcinogenic and that the term comes on the agenda. Plastic packaging manufacturers are members of a young and dynamic sector, resulting from the fact that plastic is a very new material compared to other alternative materials.

As members of such a young , dynamic and sensitive sector , we are under heavy accusations about human health.

It is our main wish that our commercial activity in which we obtain income does not contradict our social and conscientious responsibilities , supports us on the contrary, and satisfies us in this direction, and such an accusation is the responsibility of all of us to express our public opinion.

First of all ,I would like to emphasize that those who go so far as to imply that almost cancer starts with plastic use ; the first findings of cancer disease were found in mummies found in the ancient Egyptian mummy before the millet.

For the time being, plastic packaging continues to be used safely in all developed countries around the world, including the USA and the EU.

When we think logically , our sector exports to hundreds of countries of the world , and our food packaging produced from plastics, among other things A.B.A health care provider competent authorities of the country of countries, including EU countries D and testing and are involved with the events. If there were such a risk, why would these countries put their citizens at risk? In addition , even the cigarette sector led by the major global monopolies ,restrictions, prohibitions against the risk of cancer , consumption reduction stimuli are blocked, why these countries banned the products of the plastic sector of SMEs. Is the plastic lobby more powerful than the smoking lobby? While the countries protect their citizens from this disease , they think that the future health expenditures and these expenditures will be given to the insurance system and therefore to the state budget. Is the lobbying power of the plastics industry bigger than the losses of State citizens caused by this disease? . The answer is of course no.

Plastic is the material of our century. Other alternative steel , wood , etc. plastics and plastics industry, which is very young compared to materials, gained a flashy victory against these materials in a very short time. The reason for this is that plastic produces products that can be processed very easily , consume less material and are much cheaper.

Today, many products in our lives are cheap because of the plastic industry.

For example , our cars are cheap thanks to plastics. Think of it 15-20 years ago in cars most of the evening(front console ,steering ,even the current exhaust, etc.). the bottles , glasses and kitchen utensils we use from glass have been cheap and are suitable for the use and budgets of the wider public. This, of course, has produced very bad results for the Iron , Wood, and glass industries, competing industries.

Plastic industry in the world mostly consists of small and medium sized companies. However, the Iron/Steel and Glass Industries, which are competing industries, are often the playground of giant companies. In other words, plastics has achieved incredible success and has taken the market share of major industries. In return , these giant industries , with huge budgets to protect their markets, set the target of smear campaigns. This is a good example that can be given in this sense.This slogan, especially from an industry that thinks that a big market like soft drinks bottle has been lost to PET bottles , is clearly meant to convey the message, " plastic is unhealthy."

 In this case , a lot of false information about plastics , coupled with media power and the credibility of the repeat, is enough to confuse consumers.

Although it is possible to give a lot of examples on this subject ,the most striking one was the news I watched on a television channel recently.I remember a researcher's explanation of scientific facts, aside from the slightest research . It is also important to note that the aspartame is not as dangerous as it was in the past, and that it may be harmful to the health of the body. He told his master that the foam cups were relatively diluted, so they were healthier and preferable . Towards the end of the news, the television channel added its own comment and gave us the message that the paper cups are healthier... It's unbelievable !!

In the first wrong world, there is no production of glass from PVC anywhere. Because the basic raw material of the glasses is PS,PP and pet.

When we think that we have already produced a glass of PVC for a moment,the glass is expected to be faced with melting result, which means that PVC is a substance that cannot withstand high heat and when you put something hot in it, the glass becomes deformed.

Another misconception is that the icing feature of the foam glass has no relation to the health aspect. It only protects the heat inside and prevents it from being felt outside.

Another misconception is that a foam glass is healthier than a normal glass. The foam glass is usually produced from the same material and PS as the regular glass,so it is the same in terms of Health.

The explanation that paper cups are different from plastic cups is also wrong.The reason the paper cups do not absorb water and soften is that they are covered in plastic. For this reason , the surface that touches the plaster is plastic in paper cups and plastic cups.

In particular , e-mails circulating on the internet and showing health organizations as sources warn people that plastics are very dangerous for health.In fact, one of these mails may have been sent to you. These e-mails are the simplest way to misrepresent the information they contain, and even more interesting is that they are denied by the health institutions that they claim to quote. For example , in 2007 , an e-mail distributed everywhere warned people that the frozen water in plastic bottles was not drinking and that it was carcinogenic and that there was a study by the famous John Hopkins Hospital in Amercan. On January 15 , 2008 , John Hopkins published on his website that the claim was unfounded , and, more interestingly, that the Mail had nothing to do with them. http://www.jhsph.edu/dioxins( see). These misleading e-mails are examples of hundreds of fake e-mails. Related to this and similar City efsaleri http://www.plasticmythbuster.org you can find many examples on the site.

Cancer is one of the most important health problems today. It is also a public health problem because of its frequent and high mortality. As a cause of death, it comes immediately after heart and vascular diseases. In Western societies, one in 250-350 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. The incidence of cancer in the group over the age of 60 is increasing very, 300 people 4-5 around the increase. Although there are no exact statistics in our country, it is estimated that half of it is.

The relationship between cancer and plastics was first established in 1987 during the studies conducted in the United States. These studies focused on two main issues .The first topic :`some chemicals that occur during the production of plastic materials are carcinogens`. The second is chemicals leaking from certain types of plastics , disrupt the functions of hormones in the body and indirectly cause cancer.`

The first example is that vinyl chloride and dioxins produced in PVC production are carcinogenic.

The second claim is that endocrine disruptors are examples. Endocrine disruptors mimic the functions of hormones in the body. Exposure to this effect for a long time increases the risk of cancer. For example, a leaking Bisphenol A from PVC and polycarbonate .

None of the results of these studies received the full support of the scientific authorities. However , even these possibilities when we accept data, we see how unfair the claims made about plastic are. Because the majority of the materials used in plastic packaging industry are not the materials mentioned above. Many different types of plastics are used today in food packaging as well as in space industry. This is like saying that all chemicals are harmful because cyanide is poison . Most of the chemicals are used today in the pharmaceutical industry and heal people. However, even if we think that we accept the accuracy of this data at a moment ,it is useful to bring another point of view that the risk of the use of plastic materials is not even 1 percent of the risk of smoking.

As a result of research by the British Goku Cancer Foundation , Pet , PP, HDPE,LDPE approved that PS is not carcinogenic to humans. However, residual Monomer amounts in PS should be carefully checked.

The best method is to determine the residual Monomer quantity and the migration rates of the products that will be reached to the end user by sending them to the authorized Laboratories besides the legal requirements of the products that will be reached to the end user ( Ministry of Agriculture Management of food contacts).

The result of all of this is that: the cancer is made about plastics , although the claims are not scientific and based on unfair competition, we plasticists should do our part in this issue and we should defend our sector with a loud voice .By taking ownership of our troops ( ASD ,PAGEV / pagder ) , we must make a strong defense through them and enlighten the public.

In addition,as an indicator of our sensitivity to this issue , we should support cancer research through our associations to help people who suffer from it, regardless of their cause, to uncover the facts of science rather than prejudice and misdirection.

We will warn our companies working in packaging production in contact with food , as our union,about their responsibilities , give the necessary trainings and remove those who behave in the wrong manner. We will not only provide the food compliance of our raw materials used in our companies with certificates and tests, but we will also direct the authorized bodies of the state to prevent the entry of raw materials that are not suitable for this purpose.

Cancer is a disease of our century and we, as members of the plastic packaging sector, especially the efforts to treat this disease should be financially and spiritually supportive and in this direction only against the unjust attacks in our sector to show us the appropriate proactive attitude

Because it is the responsibility of the employees in this sector to raise awareness of the consumers and take measures to protect their health , and to fight with false information and wrongdoing the consumers.