Microplastic pollution associated with probabilistic human health risks: Potential hazards, critical factors, challenges, and limitations

Microplastics are increasingly found in water and food, raising concerns about long-term human health risks, including cancer. This work synthesizes existing data and methodologies to explore the probabilistic human health risks associated with microplastic pollution, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding exposure pathways, toxicity mechanisms, and risk assessment approaches. It emphasizes estimated daily intake (EDI) and potential microplastic cancer risk (MPCR), applying them to evaluate exposure through food and water. Key variables, such as body weight, population group, polymer type, ingestion rate, cancer slope factor, and exposure pathway, collectively inform risk estimates. While ingestion rate and exposure levels (concentration and duration) are central to risk assessment, uncertainties remain. Addressing these gaps requires interdisciplinary approaches combining toxicology, environmental science, and computational modeling to better understand and manage the potential health risks posed by microplastic pollution.