Environmental and Health Hazards of Chemicals in Plastic Polymers and Products (original) (raw)

Hazardous substances in plastics

TemaNord, 2017

Hazardous substances in plastics-ways to increase recycling The aim of the project is to create a knowledge base on how plastics recycling can increase without increasing the risk of emitting hazardous substances in the environment. The first general conclusion is that to be able to increase recycling in a safe way there are measures that need to be taken at different levels, both upstream and downstream as well as market solutions. The following areas are of interest:  Legislation: new legislation is not necessary, but harmonisation and clear guidance to the existing one is.  Market: to create a market safety on content is needed.  If substances added had been less hazardous the recycled raw material would be "more safe" to use in new products.  There should be higher attention put on the knowledge of the recyclers and their need for more information and guidance.  Traceability and content: Further work on labelling reaching the recycle part of the value chain needs to be developed. It is also needed to develop a systematic approach towards risk assessments linked to recycling.

ScienceDirect Toxic Pollutants from Plastic Waste-A Review

Incineration of plastic waste in an open field is a major source of air pollution. Most of the times, the Municipal Solid Waste containing about 12% of plastics is burnt, releasing toxic gases like Dioxins, Furans, Mercury and Polychlorinated Biphenyls into the atmosphere. Further, burning of Poly Vinyl Chloride liberates hazardous halogens and pollutes air, the impact of which is climate change. The toxic substances thus released are posing a threat to vegetation, human and animal health and environment as a whole. Polystyrene is harmful to Central Nervous System. The hazardous brominated compounds act as carcinogens and mutagens. Dioxins settle on the crops and in our waterways where they eventually enter into our food and hence the body system. These Dioxins are the lethal persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and its worst component, 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), commonly known as agentorange is a toxic compound which causes cancer and neurological damage, disrupts reproductive thyroid and respiratory systems. Thus, burning of plastic wastes increase the risk of heart disease, aggravates respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema and cause rashes, nausea or headaches, and damages the nervous system. Hence, a sustainable step towards tomorrow's cleaner and healthier environment needs immediate attention of the environmentalists and scientists. This review presents the hazards of incineration; open burning of plastics and effects of plastic in water and also a possibility of working out strategies to develop alternate procedures of plastic waste management.

Toxic Pollutants from Plastic Waste-A Review

Incineration of plastic waste in an open field is a major source of air pollution. Most of the times, the Municipal Solid Waste containing about 12% of plastics is burnt, releasing toxic gases like Dioxins, Furans, Mercury and Polychlorinated Biphenyls into the atmosphere. Further, burning of Poly Vinyl Chloride liberates hazardous halogens and pollutes air, the impact of which is climate change. The toxic substances thus released are posing a threat to vegetation, human and animal health and environment as a whole. Polystyrene is harmful to Central Nervous System. The hazardous brominated compounds act as carcinogens and mutagens. Dioxins settle on the crops and in our waterways where they eventually enter into our food and hence the body system. These Dioxins are the lethal persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and its worst component, 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), commonly known as agentorange is a toxic compound which causes cancer and neurological damage, disrupts reproductive thyroid and respiratory systems. Thus, burning of plastic wastes increase the risk of heart disease, aggravates respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema and cause rashes, nausea or headaches, and damages the nervous system. Hence, a sustainable step towards tomorrow's cleaner and healthier environment needs immediate attention of the environmentalists and scientists. This review presents the hazards of incineration; open burning of plastics and effects of plastic in water and also a possibility of working out strategies to develop alternate procedures of plastic waste management.

Risk assessment of leaching of substances from synthetic polymeric matrices

Risk assessment of leaching of substances from synthetic polymeric matrices The leaching of substances from plastics is fundamentally different from leaching of substances from, for example, stony materials. However, the current environmental risk assessment of building materials has been derived for stony materials and does not account for ageing and wheathering of the material. These processes have higher rates in plastics and have an high impact on the leaching of substances. To obtain more knowledge about ageing and wheathering it is necessary to develop a specific testing strategy for plastics. This follows from a literature study of the RIVM , commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Plastics, or synthetic polymeric matrices, contain unknown by-products and many additives, for example pigments, softeners, flame retardants and antioxidants, which are distributed in the environment when exposed to water. Bioassays are recommended as additional test to account for the environmental risk of exposure to cocktails of known and unknown substances. Bioassays are tests with living aquatic organisms and provide information about the effects of unknown substances or combinations of substances. The use of plastics or recycled plastics for outdoor purposes is increasing. Yet, the knowledge about the identity and quantity of leached substances stays behind. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) aims at harmonization of test and risk assessment methods for different building materials, such as stone, wood, metal and plastics. This aim is based on the assumed similarity of leaching mechanisms.

The Toxicity of Plastics

Trace Metals in the Environment

According to more than 200 scholarly publications, plastic pollution has been emerging as a major environmental concern in recent decades, and has been posing a relevant threat to ecosystems and global health. While the focus has primarily been on the physical, chemical and biological impacts of primary and secondary plastics, also for their ability to cross biological barriers within the human body, an additional hazard is represented by their association to heavy metals, used as additives. Metals are, in fact, added to plastics for their stabilizing actions. The examples of metal toxicity here reported are Antimony (Sb), Arsenic (As), Barium (Ba), Beryllium (Be), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Selenium (Se), Vanadium (V) and Zinc (Zn). This chapter explores the toxicity of metals associated with plastic pollution in the environment, illustrating their potential consequences for the global ecological system,...

Chemicals associated with plastic packaging: Inventory and hazards

Global plastics production has reached 380 million metric tons in 2015, with around 40% used for packaging. Plastic packaging is diverse and made of multiple polymers and numerous additives, along with other components, such as adhesives or coatings. Further, packaging can contain residues from substances used during manufacturing, such as solvents, along with non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), such as impurities, oligomers, or degradation products. To characterize risks from chemicals potentially released during manufacturing, use, disposal, and/or recycling of packaging, comprehensive information on all chemicals involved is needed. Here, we present a database of Chemicals associated with Plastic Packaging (CPPdb), which includes chemicals used during manufacturing and/or present in final packaging articles. The CPPdb lists 906 chemicals likely associated with plastic packaging and 3377 substances that are possibly associated. Of the 906 chemicals likely associated with pl...

Risk assessment of harmful types of plastics in the marine environment

2019

This report presents the results of a risk assessment of residual chemical additives, monomers and degradation products present in microplastic (MP) particles in the marine environment. Seven cases of different polymer types and product groups are defined that represent the most significant exposures of MPs, and thus potential highrisk cases towards marine organisms. Risk Quotients (RQ) are calculated for three trophic levels, i.e. pelagic/planktonic zooplankton: copepod, benthopelagic fish: atlantic cod and seabird: northern fulmar. Danish Miljøkvalitetskrav (MKK) and European Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) values are used as toxicity threshold values. RQ larger than unity, which indicates potential risk, is estimated for copepod and cod (pelagic community) and the flame-retardant pentabromdiphenylether (PeBDE) used in polyurethane (PUR), the biocide tributyltin (TBT) used in polyvinylchloride (PVC) and PUR, and the flame-retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) used in expand...