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with hormonal balance and are linked to reproductive disorders, developmental abnormalities and cancer, the report said.

The report recommends urgent policy action, including restricting the high-risk additives in consumer products, developing chemical-specific regulations, and introducing mandatory labelling and disclosure systems.

“It would be very dangerous if we ignore the issue of highly toxic additives,” said Siddika Sultana, executive director of the Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO).

They pose serious risks, particularly for children and women of reproductive age, but existing laws do not address this, she said.

The ESDO prepared the report as part of a global initiative led by the International Pollutants Elimination Network, which was presented by its assistant programme officer Sadmeen Sadaf Jahan at an event yesterday.

Currently, Bangladesh produces more than 3 million tonnes of plastic annually, with a domestic market valued at more than $ 3 billion and an annual growth rate of approximately 20 percent.

Public and policy discussions have largely focused on visible plastic pollution.

The chemical composition of plastics, particularly the use of hazardous additives such as phthalates and bisphenols as plasticisers, remains a critical but underexplored issue.

Besides, the industry is heavily reliant on imported raw materials and chemical additives, she said, adding that around 15 shipments of Bisphenol A (BPA) were imported in 2025.

The chemicals are widely used across multiple sectors, including food packaging and plastic containers, children’s toys and school supplies, thermal paper receipts, flexible PVC products and adhesives, coatings and printing inks.

Children are vulnerable to chemical exposure due to frequent contact with toys and school supplies.

Retail workers are also exposed to continuous handling of BPA-containing receipts, while communities in industrial areas are exposed through polluted water, air and food.

Citing a 2023 study by Jahangirnagar University students and teachers, she said industrial areas such as Savar and Tongi found significant concentrations of phthalates, posing ecological and carcinogenic risks.

In 2022, an ESDO study found 30 out of 47 erasers used by schoolchildren contained phthalates, she said.

A joint study by ESDO and the Wonjin Institute in 2022 analysed 39 thermal paper receipts collected from various retail outlets in Dhaka and found BPA in 67.5 of samples.

ESDO Secretary General Shahriar Hossain said the plastics sector is growing rapidly, but chemical safety governance has not kept pace.

Without urgent action, hazardous additives will continue to threaten public health, workers and the environment, he said.

People’s consumption of foods exposed to different chemicals is one of the reasons behind the rise in non-communicable diseases in the country, said Tahmina Shirin, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.

Referring to the study, she said the evidence generated in the study should be incorporated into the government’s policy.

The report should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers, said ESDO Chairman Margub Morshed.

Bangladesh now has an opportunity to build a modern regulatory framework that safeguards health while supporting responsible industrial development, he added.