OPINION: Cancer physician urges legislators to act on microplastic, Styrofoam bills

Published 5:30 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

I grew up in Juneau, hiking in the Togass and eating salmon from Southeast waters. Today, as a medical oncologist and mother of two young boys, I spend my days helping Alaskans navigate some of the hardest conversations of their lives: a new cancer diagnosis, an uncertain prognosis, decisions about chemotherapy.

Cancer is complicated. It is influenced by genetics, age, chance. But we also know something else: environmental exposures matter.

That is why I am speaking out in support of two bills before the Alaska Legislature — House Bill 25, which would phase out polystyrene (known as Styrofoam) food packaging, and House Bill 332, which would establish a statewide strategy to test for and address microplastics.

Even here in Alaska, far from major industrial centers, plastic contamination is reaching surprising places. Researchers sampling snow from the summit of Denali detected microplastic particles on North Americas highest peak as well as in traditional foods of Alaska including fish, seabirds, walrus, seal species, and whales.

Polystyrene is made from styrene, a chemical the National Toxicology Program lists as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” As an oncologist, that phrase is not abstract to me. It means credible evidence of cancer risk in humans. When we heat food in polystyrene containers or consume food that has absorbed chemicals from them, we are increasing exposure to substances linked with cancer and other diseases.

Beyond its potential carcinogenicity, emerging research suggests that polystyrene microplastics may harm reproductive health, disrupt endocrine function, and trigger inflammation, and cellular toxicity. Animal studies have even demonstrated behavioral changes and increased oxidative stress in the brain following microplastic exposure. While these are early findings, they are biologically plausible and deeply concerning.

Microplastics — fragments smaller than five millimeters — are now found in drinking water, seafood, and even human tissue. Recent studies have detected microplastics in placentas and accumulating in human brains. The working group Targeting Environmental Neuro-Development Risks, known as Project TENDR, is composed of leading pediatric and public health experts, has concluded that the presence of microplastics and their chemical additives in children’s bodies constitutes a public health emergency.

As physicians, we are trained to pay particular attention to vulnerable populations. Developing children are uniquely susceptible to toxic exposures because their organs — especially the brain and nervous system— are still developing. Chemicals and microplastics can pass through the blood-brain barrier. Small exposures can have lifelong consequences.

Plastics are not inert. More than 16,000 chemicals are used in plastic production. Many — including phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, and PFAS — are associated with cancer, endocrine disruption, immune suppression, and neurodevelopmental harm.

As an oncologist, I regularly treat cancers linked to environmental risk factors, including cancers of the breast, colon, kidney, and thyroid. We cannot ignore that some of these same chemicals are implicated in increased cancer risk.

Opponents of HB 25 argue that polystyrene is recyclable and affordable. But recycling of food-service foam has repeatedly failed in practice and is not economically feasible.

Meanwhile, over a dozen states and hundreds of municipalities — including some in Alaska— have already transitioned away from polystyrene food packaging, demonstrating this transition is not only possible, but also economically feasible.

This is not about eliminating all plastics overnight. It is about eliminating unnecessary, higher-risk uses — particularly in food packaging — and about establishing a science-based testing plan to understand and reduce microplastic contamination in our water.

As a physician, I believe in prevention. We screen for colon cancer before symptoms develop. We vaccinate to prevent HPV-related cancers. We counsel patients to stop smoking long before lung cancer appears. When credible evidence signals risk, we act.

Alaska prides itself on clean water, wild fish, and healthy communities. Supporting HB 25 to phase out the use of polystyrene in food packaging and HB 332, legislation to address microplastics, is not radical — it is responsible.

As an Alaskan, a mother, and a cancer physician, I urge legislators to act this session so we can make the prognosis for our health and environment better for the future.

Natalie Wallace grew up in Juneau and attended medical and public health school through the WWAMI program. She is the mother of two young boys and a practicing medical oncologist in Anchorage.