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Toxic Substances in Plastics, Micro- and Nanoplastics: Utilizing ATSDR's Plastics-Related Toxicological Profile Tool and Mixtures Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment
Original title: Toxic Substances in Plastics, Micro- and Nanoplastics: Utilizing ATSDR’s Plastics-Related Toxicological Profile Tool and Mixtures Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment
Summary
Scientists reviewed data on nearly 500 chemicals found in plastics and built a free online tool to help researchers quickly see which health problems each chemical is linked to. The findings show that many plastic-related chemicals are most commonly tied to breathing problems, nervous system issues, liver damage, and developmental harm, though this doesn't necessarily mean everyday plastic use causes these effects in humans. This tool matters because it helps health experts figure out which plastic chemicals deserve the most urgent research and safety testing, ultimately guiding better protections for consumers down the road.
The prevalence of plastics in the environment raises concerns about their complex and poorly understood effects on human health. Research continues to uncover more sources of exposure and wider ranges of plastics within the body. Adverse health effects have been observed in animals, but their relevance to humans remains unclear. To address the growing need for reliable toxicity assessment resources and tools to aid in the synthesis of findings and the identification of data gaps and needs, we have developed a data visualization tool to provide streamlined access to the evaluated data on the chemical impacts of plastics on human health. The Plastics-Related Toxicology Profiles Tool uses Tableau Public to organize the extracted chemical-specific information from ATSDR Toxicological Profiles, the United Nations Environmental Program's 2023 Chemicals in Plastics Technical Report, and a literature review of relevant research in Google Scholar and PubMed. The tool organizes extracted data from 98 ATSDR Toxicological Profiles representing over 476 substances related to plastics production in 16 tabulated health outcome categories associated with plastics exposure. The chemicals are organized into four categories based on their role in plastics manufacturing. The top four health endpoints impacted by all listed substance profiles are respiratory, neurologic, hepatic, and developmental effects. More than 30% of the substance profiles affected these systems as well as other non-cancer endpoints involving the immunological, renal, and reproductive systems, as well as increased cancer risk in respiratory and hepatic systems. Most monomers negatively impact development and the respiratory system, and most metal additives affect the respiratory system. We explain how this data visualization tool combined with ATSDR's framework for assessing health impacts from multiple chemicals could be applied to identify the target organs impacted by components of the common plastic polyvinyl chloride. Hazard quotients and index show low toxicity and health risk of components in the cured product. This data provide a valuable resource for prioritizing health risk assessments. Use of this interactive tool can enhance the ability of public health professionals to navigate the expanding literature, synthesize findings, and identify future health risk assessment and research priorities.