Is burning plastic toxic?

I believe that for many friends who work in OEM factories, they often come into contact with plastic products. However, when some plastic products are scrapped, they are usually disposed of by burning. During the burning process, they will smell a pungent plastic smell, so many friends feel very distressed about this. So is burning plastic toxic? In response to this question raised by everyone, let me join you in today's learning content.

The main components of plastic bags are: polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PV), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene resin (PS).

Combustion can produce a carcinogenic substance called "dioxin". This substance stays suspended in the air for a long time and is inhaled into the human body with the air and is extremely difficult to be expelled. When the "dioxin" content in the body reaches a certain level, it will cause a series of diseases such as abnormal birth and male feminization. It can also directly stimulate the lung mucosa, cause inflammatory reactions as a foreign body, or cause allergic reactions as an allergen, causing damage to the alveoli and mucosa, inflammation of the bronchus and lung tissue, chronic fibrosis, aggravate asthma, and even lead to cor pulmonale. In addition, soluble toxic substances adsorbed on the surface of particles can enter the blood and cause damage to lung tissue, heart and even organs throughout the body.

Guidance: It is best to move to another place, especially for children and pregnant women. Eating pig blood regularly is said to help cleanse the waste produced by the human body's metabolism.

Method to identify whether plastic bags are toxic or not: Color detection method by hand touch: non-toxic ones are milky white or colorless and transparent, feel smooth to the touch, and have a waxy surface; toxic ones are turbid or yellow, red, or black in color and feel sticky. Shake detection method: Grab the plastic bag and shake it hard. If it makes a crisp sound, it is non-toxic; if it makes a dull sound, it is toxic. Fire detection method: non-toxic ones are flammable, the tip of the flame is yellow, the part is blue, it drips like a candle when burning, and has a smell of paraffin; toxic ones are not flammable, will go out when away from fire, the tip of the flame is yellow, the bottom is green, and it can be pulled into a thread when softened.

Through the above learning, I believe that most of our friends have their own unique insights and more standard answers on whether burning plastic is toxic. Of course, I would like to remind everyone that plastics contain many chemical substances, so long-term use of plastics will have adverse effects on people’s health. If they are burned, this will also cause the decomposition of many chemical substances.