Paper straws have been marketed as a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic, but a new South Korean assessment suggests they may carry a greater pollution-related health burden.South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment commissioned the assessment from the Korean Society for Life Cycle Assessment, according to news reports.Researchers compared how paper, plastic and other disposable straws could affect human health and the environment, from production through disposal.POPULAR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER LINKED TO POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS HEART RISKPaper straws scored 6.33 times as high as conventional plastic straws in an estimate of cancer-related harm from pollution generated during production and disposal, according to South Korean reports. The score estimates potential harm from pollution generated from production through disposal — not chemical exposure or cancer risk from drinking through a straw, the researchers noted.The assessment compared how paper, plastic and other disposable straws could affect human health and the environment, from production through disposal.(iStock)The assessment reportedly compared four straw types: paper, conventional plastic, biodegradable plastic and bio-based polyethylene, or bio-PE.Researchers assessed 16 environmental impacts, assuming about 74% of discarded straws were incinerated and 26% went to landfills, based on South Korean waste statistics.MICROPLASTICS DETECTED IN MOST HEART ATTACK PATIENTS' BLOOD IN STARTLING NEW STUDYConventional plastic straws performed best in 10 of the 16 environmental categories, but no straw type came out ahead in every category.The study did not measure whether chemicals leach from straws into drinks and did not assess health outcomes among people who use them.CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIESResearchers recommended that stores provide disposable straws only upon request, according to The Korea Herald.Paper straws scored higher than conventional plastic straws on one m...