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Hazardous metal additives in plastics and their environmental impacts

Environment International 2021 323 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Montserrat Filella, Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Andrew Turner

Summary

This review examines the environmental impacts of hazardous metal additives historically used in plastics, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead compounds. Researchers found that despite regulatory restrictions, these toxic additives persist in plastics still in circulation and in recycled goods, and they can leach into the environment as plastics degrade, posing risks to ecosystems and organisms.

Body Systems

Digestive

Study Type In vitro

Historically, many additives and catalysts used in plastics were based on compounds of toxic metals (and metalloids), like arsenic, cadmium, chromium(VI), and lead. Despite subsequent restrictions, hazardous additives remain in plastics in societal circulation because of the pervasiveness of many products and the more general contamination of recycled goods. However, little is understood about their presence and impacts in the environment, with most studies focusing on the role of plastics in acquiring metals from their surroundings through, for example, adsorption. Accordingly, this paper provides a review of the uses of hazardous, metal-based additives in plastics, the relevant European regulations that have been introduced to restrict or prohibit usage in various sectors, and the likely environmental impacts of hazardous additives once plastics are lost in nature. Examination of the literature reveals widespread occurrence of hazardous metals in environmental plastics, with impacts ranging from contamination of the waste stream to increasing the density and settling rates of material in aquatic systems. A potential concern from an ecotoxicological perspective is the diffusion of metals from the matrix of micro- and nanoplastics under certain physico-chemical conditions, and especially favorable here are the acidic environments encountered in the digestive tract of many animals (birds, fish, mammals) that inadvertently consume plastics. For instance, in vitro studies have shown that the mobilization of Cd and Pb from historical microplastics can greatly exceed concentrations deemed to be safe according to migration limits specified by the current European Toy Safety Directive (17 mg kg<sup>-1</sup> and 23 mg kg<sup>-1</sup>, respectively). When compared with concentrations of metals typically adsorbed to plastics from the environment, the risks from pervasive, historical additives are far more significant.

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