By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 12th June 2025)-Senior Environment Officer Dr. Elrick Francis is sounding the alarm on the health dangers of using Styrofoam containers, particularly when reheated in a microwave, warning that the chemicals released during this process can be harmful to the human body.
“Plastic contains hormonal disruptors and so when you have a lot of people saying, ‘Well, why is there so much cancers going on?’ and they don’t understand that it could be that the food-just the container that you’re consuming your food in…”
Dr. Francis issued the warning during an appearance on the government’s weekly ‘In Focus’ programme aired live on Wednesday 11th June 2025,with host Ian Richards of the St. Kitts-Nevis Information Service (SKNIS), surrounding the theme “Empowering Change for a Sustainable Future.”
He highlighted the common practice of reheating food in Styrofoam containers without awareness of the health risks involved.
“A lot of people…have the Styrofoam container; like they had the food in it and they take it out the fridge, put it in the microwave, heat it up-and so they don’t understand the health implications of that,” he stated.
Dr. Francis went on to explain the science behind his concerns: “Plastic contains hormonal disruptors and so when you have a lot of people saying, ‘Well, why is there so much cancers going on?’ and they don’t understand that it could be that the food-just the container that you’re consuming your food in… Matter of fact, if you look at the packaging, a lot of people don’t read the packaging. Read the bottom of the package where it says, do not microwave. There is a reason why they tell you do not microwave and it’s not just for the integrity of the container. It’s because chemicals will leach out of the plastic into your food, you ingest that food, and now it messes up your insides.”
During the programme, Richards added that many people are unaware that plastic is derived from oil and contains harmful toxins. Dr. Francis affirmed, “Right, yes,” before turning attention to more activities planned for Environment Month.
In discussing the Ministry’s public education efforts during Environment Month, Dr. Francis said the team is engaging residents across the island with direct community outreach.
“We have community walkthrough sensitizations and so we go out into the several communities because it’s not just Basseterre where people are. So you have to go out where people work, where people live and you have to engage the public, and to get their feedback because what you realize when you have conversations with people is that…plastic is a very useful material but a lot of people don’t know how to properly utilize it.”
Joining the conversation was Environment Officer Sherverne Gardener, who also emphasized the far-reaching impact of plastics, particularly micro plastics.
“Definitely, that is one of the main talking points I have to bring up when I’m speaking to persons, because a lot of persons, they are not quite aware of the benefits-and one of the benefits deals with health, and as time goes by, more research-we keep finding that the plastic simply breaks down into smaller particles which we probably don’t have the capacity to see right now with the naked eye and based on research, microscopic plastic are being found. It’s everywhere right now, it’s in the air, it’s all over and this can be a major issue if we do not resolve it right now. And I’m speaking to the future health and prosperity of the Federation.”
Gardener went on to say: “That is one of the main things we’re looking at. We’re looking at human resources when we were looking at banning some single-use plastic. And that is one of the main reasons and one of the main things I try to drive home when speaking to the community and show them how they personally and individually will benefit from such an initiative.”