Plastic additives: challenges in ecotox hazard assessment.

ABSTRACT: The risk of plastic debris, and specifically micro(nano)plastic particles, to ecosystems remains to be fully characterized. One particular issue that warrants further characterization is the hazards associated with chemical additives within micro(nano)plastic as they are not chemically bound within the polymers and can be persistent and biologically active. Most plastics contain additives and are therefore potential vectors for the introduction of these chemicals into the environment as they leach from plastic, a process that can be accelerated through degradation and weathering processes. There are knowledge gaps on the ecotoxicological effects of plastic additives and how they are released from parent plastic materials as they progressively fragment from the meso to micro and nano scale.

SUBMITTER: Barrick A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8054737 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature