Review article
https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2024-75-3807
Science-based evidence on pathways and effects of human exposure to micro- and nanoplastics
Buket Bakan
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia 2 Atatürk University Faculty of Science, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Erzurum, Turkey
Nikolina Kalčec
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Sijin Liu
; Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
Krunoslav Ilić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Yu Qi
; Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
Ivona Capjak
; Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Lucija Božičević
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Nikolina Peranić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Vinković Vrček
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Human exposure to plastic particles has raised great concern among all relevant stakeholders involved in the protection of human health due to the contamination of the food chain, surface waters, and even drinking water as well as due to their persistence and bioaccumulation. Now more than ever, it is critical that we understand the biological fate of plastics and their interaction with different biological systems. Because of the ubiquity of plastic materials in the environment and their toxic potential, it is imperative to gain reliable, regulatory-relevant, science-based data on the effects of plastic micro- and nanoparticles (PMNPs) on human health in order to implement reliable risk assessment and management strategies in the circular economy of plastics. This review presents current knowledge of human-relevant PMNP exposure doses, pathways, and toxic effects. It addresses difficulties in properly assessing plastic exposure and current knowledge gaps and proposes steps that can be taken to underpin health risk perception, assessment, and mitigation through rigorous science-based evidence. Based on the existing scientific data on PMNP adverse health effects, this review brings recommendations on the development of PMNP-specific adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) following the AOP Users’ Handbook of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Keywords
adverse outcome; plastic particles; regulatory-relevant data; risk assessment, risk management
Hrčak ID:
315330
URI
Publication date:
19.3.2024.
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