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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to A New Method for Environmental Risk Assessment of Pollutants Based on Multi-dimensional Risk Factors
ClearAn alternative approach to risk rank chemicals on the threat they pose to the aquatic environment
This paper proposed an alternative approach for ranking chemicals by the threat they pose to aquatic ecosystems, integrating exposure and hazard data in a more ecologically meaningful way than standard risk quotient methods.
Toward a Framework for Environmental Fate and Exposure Assessment of Polymers
This review discusses challenges and opportunities for developing environmental fate and exposure assessment frameworks for polymers in regulatory risk assessment, finding that the diversity and complexity of polymers requires adaptation of existing chemical assessment approaches.
In Silico Analysis of Contaminant Persistence: From QSARs to Machine Learning Models
Researchers reviewed six decades of computational approaches for predicting environmental persistence of contaminants, tracing the evolution from classical QSAR models to modern machine learning methods, and proposed a practical roadmap for applying these tools to small molecules, polymers, and microplastics in decision-ready regulatory contexts.
Microplastics, the Trojan Horse Paradigm: Barriers to Traditional Toxicological Risk Assessment and Opportunities for NAMs.
This review argued that microplastics behave like a "Trojan horse," carrying adsorbed chemicals into biological systems in ways that undermine traditional toxicological risk assessment frameworks. The authors identified key gaps in exposure data and toxicokinetics and proposed that new approach methodologies (NAMs) are needed to adequately assess microplastic hazards.
Microplastics, the Trojan Horse Paradigm: Barriers to Traditional Toxicological Risk Assessment and Opportunities for NAMs.
This review argued that microplastics behave like a "Trojan horse," carrying adsorbed chemicals into biological systems in ways that undermine traditional toxicological risk assessment frameworks. The authors identified key gaps in exposure data and toxicokinetics and proposed that new approach methodologies (NAMs) are needed to adequately assess microplastic hazards.
A Multilevel Risk Assessment Framework for Nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems
Researchers proposed a multilevel risk assessment framework for nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems that synthesizes complex ecotoxicological datasets into actionable risk indicators, designed to help policymakers set safety thresholds and make decisions about restrictions on petrochemical-derived materials.
Examining the Relevance of the Microplastic-Associated Additive Fraction in Environmental Compartments
Researchers developed a theoretical framework for sampling and analytical procedures to characterize the speciation of plastic-associated chemical additives across environmental compartments, addressing a gap in routine monitoring programs that have not accounted for additives still bound to plastic particles. The study examines additive bioavailability and plastic-associated transport as key risk factors in environmental contamination assessment.
Assessment of potential ecological risk for microplastic particles
Researchers applied an ecological risk assessment framework to evaluate the hazard posed by microplastic particles across multiple environmental compartments, using species sensitivity distributions and environmental concentration data. The assessment highlighted specific particle types and size ranges that present the greatest ecological risk.
Complex Mixtures and Multiple Stressors: Evaluating Combined Chemical Exposures and Cumulative Toxicity
This review examined how complex chemical mixtures and multiple stressors interact to produce cumulative toxicity, highlighting that traditional single-chemical risk assessments underestimate real-world exposure risks where organisms face simultaneous pollutant combinations.
Micro/nanoplastics as environmental mediators: A systematic review of sources and interfacial processes driving cross-media transport and impacts
This systematic review advances a process-based framework for understanding how micro- and nanoplastics move between terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments. The findings reveal that cross-media transport pathways are poorly integrated in existing research, meaning the full scope of human exposure to microplastics across environmental compartments is likely underestimated.
Moving persistence assessments into the 21st century: A role for weight-of-evidence and overall persistence
This review argues for modernizing chemical persistence assessments by moving beyond simplified laboratory biodegradation tests toward weight-of-evidence approaches that incorporate multiple fate processes and environmental conditions to better predict real-world persistence of chemicals including plastic additives.
Updated and comprehensive characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
Researchers updated and expanded characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment, allowing better quantification of plastic pollution impacts on ecosystem quality and human health. The new factors cover a broader range of particle types and environmental compartments than previous versions.
Microplastics: a multidimensional contaminant requires a multidimensional framework for assessing risk
Researchers proposed a new risk assessment framework specifically designed for microplastics that accounts for their complexity — including differences in size, shape, polymer type, and attached chemicals — rather than treating them like a single uniform contaminant. The framework assigns each particle a hazard score based on its physical and chemical properties, allowing scientists to calculate the overall risk of real-world microplastic mixtures found in places like San Francisco Bay.
A multimedia model to estimate the environmental fate of microplastic particles
Researchers developed SimpleBox4Plastic (SB4P), the first mathematical model capable of predicting how nano- and microplastics move through and accumulate across air, water, sediment, and soil simultaneously, accounting for processes like particle clumping, fragmentation, and attachment to natural materials. While concentration predictions carry uncertainty, the model provides a practical screening tool for assessing environmental exposure to microplastics where direct measurements are unavailable.
Formulation of a Target Plastic Model to estimate critical plastic burdens of toxicants.
This study created a "Target Plastic Model" to estimate the concentration of toxic chemicals in common plastics at which they would harm aquatic organisms, adapting an established chemical toxicity framework to plastic polymers. The model accurately predicted lethal concentrations for fish exposed to a range of chemicals, offering a new tool for assessing the risks posed by plastic-adsorbed pollutants and improving the design of passive sampling devices used in environmental monitoring.
Updated and comprehensive characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
Researchers updated life cycle assessment characterization factors for microplastics, developing comprehensive factors that account for ecosystem quality, human health, and socioeconomic impacts across multiple environmental compartments. The updated factors enable LCA practitioners to more accurately compare the plastic pollution impacts of different product systems and waste management strategies.
Current understanding of microplastics in the environment: Occurrence, fate, risks, and what we should do
This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic occurrence, environmental fate, and risk across marine, freshwater, and atmospheric compartments, noting that both the physical particles and the chemicals they carry pose hazards. The authors call for a more integrated risk assessment framework that treats microplastics as both a pollutant and a carrier of other pollutants.
A Thermodynamic Approach for Assessing the Environmental Exposure of Chemicals Absorbed to Microplastic
Researchers used thermodynamic and multimedia modeling to assess how microplastics influence the transport and bioavailability of persistent toxic substances in marine environments. The study suggests that chemicals with high hydrophobicity may partition to polyethylene microplastic, but overall, microplastic is likely of limited importance as a vector for delivering toxic substances to marine organisms compared to other exposure pathways.
Understanding hazardous concentrations of microplastics in fresh water using non-traditional toxicity data
Researchers developed hazard concentration thresholds for microplastics in freshwater using non-traditional toxicity data, accounting for environmentally relevant sizes, shapes, and polymer types to provide more realistic governance standards.
A brief review on the assessment of potential joint effects of complex mixtures of contaminants in the environment
This review presents new methods for assessing the potential combined effects of complex mixtures of environmental contaminants on organisms. Researchers highlight that many pollutants can cause long-term harm at low concentrations during extended exposure periods. The study emphasizes the need for improved approaches to evaluate how multiple chemicals interact, rather than studying each contaminant in isolation.
Screening and prioritization of nano- and microplastic particle toxicity studies for evaluating human health risks – development and application of a toxicity study assessment tool
Researchers developed a standardized tool to screen and rank toxicity studies on nano- and microplastics by quality and relevance, addressing a critical gap in how scientists evaluate which studies should inform human health risk assessments for these widespread plastic pollutants.
Paradigms to assess the human health risks of nano- and microplastics
Researchers proposed a new, comprehensive framework for assessing the health risks of nano- and microplastics (tiny plastic particles), addressing key gaps in how we analyze these particles, model their behavior, and use that information to protect human health — since no such standard risk assessment system currently exists.
Ecotoxicity effect factors for plastic additives on the aquatic environment: a new approach for life cycle impact assessment
Researchers calculated toxicity effect factors for 75 plastic additives — chemicals mixed into plastics to improve flexibility, durability, and color — gathering 461 data points across 75 aquatic species to assess how much these chemicals harm marine and freshwater life. The resulting factors can be used in life cycle assessments to quantify the environmental damage caused by plastic additives leaching into water, helping guide greener plastic design and policy.
Plastic debris exposure and effects in rivers: Boundaries for efficient ecological risk assessment
This discussion paper identifies critical gaps in freshwater plastic ecological risk assessment, arguing that boundaries around exposure metrics, ecological endpoints, and field relevance remain poorly defined. The authors propose a framework for more reliable risk assessment in riverine systems, where plastic pollution research lags behind marine studies.