We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastics: addressing ecological risk through lessons learned
Summary
Researchers reviewed the current state of microplastic ecological risk assessment and proposed applying lessons learned from more established fields of environmental research. The study suggests that despite widespread concern about microplastic pollution, scientific understanding of actual ecological risk remains limited, and future research should follow more rigorous risk assessment frameworks.
Plastic litter is an environmental problem of great concern. Despite the magnitude of the plastic pollution in our water bodies, only limited scientific understanding is available about the risk to the environment, particularly for microplastics. The apparent magnitude of the problem calls for quickly developing sound scientific guidance on the ecological risks of microplastics. The authors suggest that future research into microplastics risks should be guided by lessons learned from the more advanced and better understood areas of (eco) toxicology of engineered nanoparticles and mixture toxicity. Relevant examples of advances in these two fields are provided to help accelerate the scientific learning curve within the relatively unexplored area of microplastics risk assessment. Finally, the authors advocate an expansion of the "vector effect" hypothesis with regard to microplastics risk to help focus research of microplastics environmental risk at different levels of biological and environmental organization.