Does Plastic Raise Breast Cancer Risk?
Updated on September 29, 2025
Most people are exposed to plastic products every day. Food and drink containers, disposable bags, and toiletry bottles are all plastics made from chemicals. Research shows that some of these chemicals may increase the risk of breast cancer.
Plastics are synthetic materials made mainly from coal, oil, and gas. They’re full of chemicals — more than 16,000 of them. Some of these chemicals make plastic flexible, durable, and resistant to water and heat. But scratching, repeated heat, and other stresses can make plastics leach chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) or smaller bits of plastic called microplastics. Chemicals from plastic have seeped into our oceans, landfills, air, and even our bodies, posing serious health concerns.
Chemicals found in plastics linked to breast cancer
Research has found that 414 chemicals in plastic either cause breast tumors in animals or show hormone-disrupting effects. Specific chemicals of concern include:
BPA is a synthetic estrogen found in many rigid plastic products, such as food and drink containers. BPA is unstable, which means it’s more likely to leach from plastic than other chemicals. This chemical is a hormone disruptor, meaning it affects how hormones act in the body by blocking them or mimicking them. This throws off the natural balance of hormones in the body. Because estrogen plays a role in the development and growth of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, some hormone disruptors may raise breast cancer risk.
An increasing amount of research has linked BPA exposure to breast cancer. A 2021 study found higher levels of BPA in urine and breast tissue of people with breast cancer than those without cancer.
Studies have found a link between BPA and infertility in women. One study found that BPA levels were nearly twice as high in infertile women as in fertile women. High levels of BPA may also make it harder to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a non-recyclable plastic used in a wide range of materials, such as pipes, packaging, and sports equipment. When VC or PVC is burned at industrial worksites, either to get rid of waste or due to an accident, it releases toxic chemicals called dioxins. Dioxins and VC are air pollutants, so people who regularly breathe in polluted air or work in manufacturing may be more exposed, which may increase breast cancer risk.
Phthalates are chemicals that improve the flexibility of plastics like PVC. They are also found in food packaging, cosmetics, and more. Similar to BPA, phthalates can interfere with hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. One study found that women with higher levels of phthalates in their urine had an increased risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer after 5.5 years, compared to women with lower levels of phthalates.
PFAS are a large group of “forever chemicals” found in plastic food packaging and cookware. The most well-studied PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), are both listed as human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and can disrupt hormones. A 2023 study from the National Cancer Institute found that women with higher PFOS levels in their blood had double the risk of developing hormone receptor-positive breast cancer compared with women with lower PFOS levels.
Plastics are usually non-biodegradable, meaning they don’t naturally break down in the environment. But they do break down into small particles called microplastics (and into even smaller particles called nanoplastics). These small particles have been found everywhere, including in water, food, air, and even in people. But it’s too soon to say if microplastics are linked to breast cancer. A recent study in breast cancer cells found that microplastics may increase the risk of breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body, but more research in people is needed.
PBDEs are chemicals used to make plastics more resistant to flames. Research shows these chemicals also disrupt hormones. PBDEs have similar structures to two plastic chemicals: polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) — both banned in the U.S. in the 1970s because of their harms to human and animal health. Researchers are studying whether PBDEs increase cancer risk. Results have been mixed for breast cancer: One 2019 study found no association between PBDE levels and breast cancer risk, but a 2018 study found an increased risk of breast cancer in people with high levels of PBDE.
Everyday exposure to plastics
People can be exposed to chemicals from plastics in many ways, such as using plastic food containers and through workplace exposures. Not all plastic exposures carry the same risk because how you use plastics affects the amount of chemicals they leach.
When you heat up food or drinks in plastic containers, BPA, phthalates, and other chemicals can leach into them. In a 2023 study, scientists heated polypropylene (PP)-based and polyethylene (PE)-based reusable plastic containers in the microwave for three minutes. Some containers released up to 4.22 million microplastics and 2.11 billion nanoplastics.
Chemicals from plastic storage containers can also leak into your food even if you don’t heat them. That’s because any stress put on plastics, like washing them, increases leaching. Acidic foods, like tomatoes or citrus, can also make plastics leach more chemicals. After 10 days of storing liquid in reusable PP- and PE-based containers, researchers found that millions to billions of microplastics and nanoplastics were floating in the liquids.
People who spend a lot of time around plastic — such as those who work in plastic production, like car or clothes manufacturing — may have an increased risk of breast cancer because of their exposure to cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting chemicals. In one study, women who worked in textiles had double the breast cancer risk than normal. Other workers exposed to chemicals from plastic include firefighters, cashiers, and nurses, though more research is needed on workplace exposures.
Reducing your risk from plastics
Though it's impossible to completely avoid plastics, try to use them as little as possible, especially if you're pregnant.
To reduce your exposure to BPA:
Drink from a glass, steel, or ceramic water bottle filled with filtered tap water.
Eat less canned food, which may be lined with BPA coating, and look for “BPA-free” labels.
Avoid touching cash register receipts, which contain BPA. If you get one, don't recycle it. Recycling receipts can spread BPA to products made with recycled paper.
Use caution when using plastics with a number 7 recycling symbol. If the plastic says "PLA" or has a leaf symbol on it, it doesn’t contain BPA. If it’s missing these labels, it may contain BPA.
To reduce your exposure to other chemicals in plastics:
Don't cook or reheat food in plastic containers or use plastic roasting/steaming bags.
Avoid cleaning plastic containers in the dishwasher, since heat can lead to chemical leaching. Hand wash them with cold water instead.
Avoid using scratched and discolored plastics, which may be more prone to leaching.
Use glass, porcelain, enamel-covered metal, or stainless steel pots, pans, and containers for food and drinks whenever possible, especially if the food or drink is hot.
Don’t store oily food in plastics, since chemicals in plastic are fat soluble and are more likely to leach into fatty food.
Don’t use plastics with recycling symbol 1 more than once.