An Overview of Chemical Additives on (Micro)Plastic Fibers: Occurrence, Release, and Health Risks

Abstract

Plastic fibers are ubiquitous in daily life with additives incorporated to improve their performance. Only a few restrictions exist for a paucity of common additives, while most of the additives used in textile industry have not been clearly regulated with threshold limits. The production of synthetic fibers, which can shed fibrous microplastics easily (< 5 mm) through mechanical abrasion and weathering, is increasing annually. These fibrous microplastics have become the main composition of microplastics in the environment. This review focuses on additives on synthetic fibers; we summarized the detection methods of additives, compared concentrations of different additive types (plasticizers, flame retardants, antioxidants, and surfactants) on (micro)plastic fibers, and analyzed their release and exposure pathways to environment and human beings. Our prediction shows that the amounts of predominant additives (phthalates, organophosphate esters, bisphenols, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and nonylphenol ethoxylates) released from clothing microplastic fibers (MFs) are estimated to reach 35, 10, 553, 0.4, and 568 ton/year to water worldwide, respectively; and 119, 35, 1911, 1.4, and 1965 ton/year to air, respectively. Human exposure to MF additives via inhalation is estimated to be up to 4.5–6440 µg/person annually for the above five additives, and via ingestion 0.1–204 µg/person. Notably, the release of additives from face masks is nonnegligible that annual human exposure to phthalates, organophosphate esters, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from masks via inhalation is approximately 491–1820 µg/person. This review helps understand the environmental fate and potential risks of released additives from (micro)plastic fibers, with a view to providing a basis for future research and policy designation of textile additives. Graphical Abstract

Wearing Face Masks as a Potential Source for Inhalation and Oral Uptake of Inanimate Toxins: a Scoping Review

“…A recent comprehensive review on uptake, toxicity, and molecular targets of microplastics and nanoplastics impacting human health significantly mentioned face masks as a source of inhalation risk [13]. Also, numerous environmental toxicology reviews [14,15] derive an indirect (environmental) health risk from wearing face masks due to the release of chemical additives [16,17] and (micro)plastic fibers [18][19][20]. Face masks released contaminants (microplastics/fibers/chemical compounds) disturbing several ecosystems and affecting their biota [21,22].…”

Valoration of the Synthetic Antioxidant Tris-(Diterbutyl-Phenol)-Phosphite (Irgafos P-168) from Industrial Wastewater and Application in Polypropylene Matrices to Minimize Its Thermal Degradation

“…Irgafos 168, which may be present in this discharge, is a compound with a chemical structure comprising an organophosphate (see Figure 1 ) attached to three rings of phenols that can be toxic to aquatic organisms and can affect water quality [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Irgafos P-168 can break down into potentially harmful secondary compounds [ 26 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Research on the health impact of Irgafos P-168 is not fully defined; however, the degradation products of Irgafos P-168, such as di-tertbutyl-phenol and tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate, are toxic.…”

Quantification of the Synthetic Phenolic Antioxidant Cyanox 1790 in Bottled Water with SPE-HPLC/MS/MS and Determination of the Impact of the Use of Recycled Packaging on Its Generation

“…In the literature, there is no evidence of more in-depth studies on the risk of Cyanox, so the information presented in this research will also serve as an input for other researchers to continue exploring its health risks. Concern about SPAs has increased as they have been identified in water samples [3,11,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], but their presence has not been linked to their migration from plastics and has not been linked to the use of recycled bottles. It is well-known that the current worldwide trend of bottled-water processing plants is to increase the recycling and reuse of these containers [54,55].…”