Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population

Conti, Gea Oliveri; Ferrante, Margherita; Bannı, Mohamed; Favara, Claudia; Nicolosi, Ilenia; Cristaldi, Antonio; Zuccarello, Pietro

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109677

Cited by 433 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Between these food categories, the estimated daily intakes of particles from fruits and vegetables were higher, averaging at 1.50 × 10 7 particles/capita/day (in adults with an average body weight of 70 kg) with median sizes of about 2 μm. 115 Based on our particle mass distribution in food, the mass of these small-sized particles would be less than 1 × 10 –7 μg/particle. It is plausible that if these food categories are considered, our model would predict much higher MP mass concentrations accumulated in the body than our earlier predictions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults

Nor

Kooi

Diepens

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

355

112

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Human exposure to microplastic is recognized as a global problem, but the uncertainty, variability, and lifetime accumulation are unresolved. We provide a probabilistic lifetime exposure model for children and adults, which accounts for intake via eight food types and inhalation, intestinal absorption, biliary excretion, and plastic-associated chemical exposure via a physiologically based pharmacokinetic submodel. The model probabilistically simulates microplastic concentrations in the gut, body tissue, and stool, the latter allowing validation against empirical data. Rescaling methods were used to ensure comparability between microplastic abundance data. Microplastic (1–5000 μm) median intake rates are 553 particles/capita/day (184 ng/capita/day) and 883 particles/capita/day (583 ng/capita/day) for children and adults, respectively. This intake can irreversibly accumulate to 8.32 × 10 3 (90% CI, 7.08 × 10 2 –1.91 × 10 6 ) particles/capita or 6.4 (90% CI, 0.1–2.31 × 10 3 ) ng/capita for children until age 18, and up to 5.01 × 10 4 (90% CI, 5.25 × 10 3 –9.33 × 10 6 ) particles/capita or 40.7 (90% CI, 0.8–9.85 × 10 3 ) ng/capita for adults until age 70 in the body tissue for 1–10 μm particles. Simulated microplastic concentrations in stool agree with empirical data. Chemical absorption from food and ingested microplastic of the nine intake media based on biphasic, reversible, and size-specific sorption kinetics, reveals that the contribution of microplastics to total chemical intake is small. The as-yet-unknown contributions of other food types are discussed in light of future research needs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults

Nor

Kooi

Diepens

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

355

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Microfibers released into the air and water bodies have spread everywhere on the planet, from mountains [ 95 ] to rivers [ 96 ] in Europe [ 97 ], America [ 98 ] Asia [ 99 ] and the Artic [ 100 ]. Given their ubiquitous presence in the environment, microfibers have also entered the food chain and have been detected in many organisms [ 101 ] including fruit and vegetable crops [ 102 ]. Until standards are adopted, the risk of false characterization or inaccurate quantification must be considered when interpreting scientific studies because the prevalence of microfibers can be overestimated or underestimated depending on the detection method [ 103 – 105 ].…”

Section: Use Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seeds that germinate in contaminated soil can absorb smaller microplastic particles. In fruit and vegetable crops, microfibers 1.51–2.52 µm in diameter were detected in the edible tissues, with median values of 223,000 particles per fruit sample and 97,800 particles per vegetable, with the highest microfiber burden found in apple and carrot, respectively [ 102 ].…”

Section: Use Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the polyester clothing value chain to identify key intervention points for sustainability

2021

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Clothing is one of the primary human needs, and the demand is met by the global production of thousands of tons of textile fibers, fabrics and garments every day. Polyester clothing manufactured from oil-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the market leader. Conventional PET creates pollution along its entire value chain—during the production, use and end-of-life phases—and also contributes to the unsustainable depletion of resources. The consumption of PET garments thus compromises the quality of land, water and air, destroys ecosystems, and endangers human health. In this article, we discuss the different stages of the value chain for polyester clothing from the perspective of sustainability, describing current environmental challenges such as pollution from textile factory wastewater, and microfibers released from clothing during the laundry cycle. We also consider potential solutions such as enhanced reuse and recycling. Finally, we propose a series of recommendations that should be applied to polyester clothing at all stages along the value chain, offering the potential for meaningful and effective change to improve the environmental sustainability of polyester textiles on a global scale.

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“…However, despite of these positive characteristics the use of ELT, and plastics in general, is currently approached with criticism. Small fractions of plastics, the microplastics, are dispersed to the environment and enter the food-chain [27,41], although the exposure and effects to humans seems to be very limited to date [33]. Because the rubber particles are heavier than water (specific density ≈ 1.16 g/cm 3 ), they tend to end up in soils and sediments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fate of recycled tyre granulate used on artificial turf

Verschoor¹,

Gelderen²,

Hofstra³

2021

Environ Sci Eur

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The production of granulates as infill for artificial turf is able to process 21% of the end-of-life tyres in Europe, approximately 600 million kg per year. In doing so it avoids an annual CO2 emission comparable with the amount that could be absorbed by around 30 km2 of forest. However, dispersal of rubber infill to the environment is perceived as a problem. An amount of 3000–5000 kg granulate per field per year is currently used as underpinning for a European proposal to ban rubber infill as part of the intended restriction on intentionally added microplastics in 2021. By reviewing grey research reports, we found out that the dispersal rates are based on the false assumption that the annual granulate demand for refilling is necessary because of granulate losses to the environment. However, it has been ignored that part of the refill is needed because the infill layer settles and becomes more dense (compaction) and that part of the lost infill is collected and reused on the fields. In combination with unawareness and improper piling of snow in the past, these are the causes of the high estimates of infill dispersal per year. This paper shows the current state-of-knowledge about ELT granulate dispersal and shows that approximately 600–1200 kg refill is required annually to compensate for compaction and for some infill waste on pavements and in drainage sinks. Recommended mitigation measures are containment through optimized field and drainage construction, suitable maintenance equipment and practices and good-housekeeping rules for players and groundkeepers and handling end-of-life pitches. If these recommendations are implemented, the emission of ELT granulates to the environment can be reduced to virtually zero.

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Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population

Cited by 433 publications

References 26 publications

Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults

Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults

Analysis of the polyester clothing value chain to identify key intervention points for sustainability

Fate of recycled tyre granulate used on artificial turf

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