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Are microplastic pollution really as harmful as we think?

2018-03-27 AquaBiota

Abstract

New scientific article: Microplastic pollution is currently perceived as an environmental hazard, and adverse effects have been reported at various levels of biological organization. However, most experimental designs do not allow plastic-specific effects to be distinguished from those caused by other particles, such as clay and cellulose, which are naturally ubiquitous in the environment. We suggest that microplastic effects reported in recent ecotoxicological studies are similar to those induced by the natural particles. To provide a sound basis for risk assessment, experimental designs must not only be able to disentangle the effects of food limitation and particle toxicity but also demonstrate whether microplastics cause impacts that differ from those induced by natural particles.

Keywords:
Microplastic, Suspended sediment, Reference particle, Experimental design, Risk assessment, LOEC, Food limitation, Filter-feeder.

Linc to article:
Martin Ogonowski, Zandra Gerdes and Elena Gorokhova. 2018: What we know and what we think we know about microplastic effects – A critical perspective. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 1:41–46. DOI: 10.1016/j.coesh.2017.09.001.

Filed Under: Other

Contact


Martin Isæus
Project director
MD, PhD Marine ecology
martin.isaeus@niras.se

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