Citation:

Cassee, F. AND A. Farraj. Safe and Sustainable Plastics: Navigating Health Impacts with Innovations. 2022 Annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, San Diego, CA, March 27 - 31, 2022.

Impact/Purpose:

This symposium was presented at the SOT meeting. I served as co-chair to Flemming Cassee, the chair of the session. The symposium examined the toxicity of microplastics in different organ systems, advances in risk assessment, and sustainable plastics development, all topics of interest to SSWR and other research programs within the agency.

Description:

With its global production having increased exponentially over the past decades, and a significant proportion not being disposed of properly, plastic pollution is acknowledged as a serious concern for the environment. Plastic debris is associated with a “cocktail of contaminants” made up of chemicals used to make plastics and pollutants adsorbed to plastics from the environment, including metals and other persistent contaminants. It spans orders of magnitudes in size, including micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), originating from products within which they were intentionally added, such as cosmetics or generated during use or by the degradation of larger plastic items, such as textiles and tyre wear. MNPs represent a heterogenous mixture of particles and fibers of varying shape, size, polymer composition, surface chemistry, and have recently been found in in drinking water, food and in the air we breathe. Accordingly, human exposure to MNPs is expected to be ubiquitous although reliable identification of types, origins and exact concentrations is hindered by the limitations in data availability as well as adequate detection methods. Similarly, their effects on human health are unclear, including their adsorption, biodistribution, and potential toxicity, and neither is their ability to translocate across biological barriers and reaching secondary organs clear, nor what extent, how and when this may lead to adverse health effects. Research on the human hazard on MNPs is emerging and evidence suggests that physiological mechanisms exist for uptake, distribution and elimination of plastic particles and these processes are influenced by the nature of the materials. This symposium will present the latest toxicological findings on various organ systems as well as a path forward for safety assessment and sustainable plastics production.

Record Details: