<p>Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) have emerged as pollutants of high public concern. Assessing and managing the risks of these particles remains challenging for several reasons. A long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive risk-governance framework that includes risk framing, scientifically sound risk assessment that accounts for human and environmental safety, evaluation, and risk management/decision making. A realistic short-term goal is to develop a comprehensive human health risk assessment framework (RAF). Very recently, RAFs for evaluating the human-health risks of MNPs have become available; however, comparative analyses of these frameworks are lacking. Here, we discuss six established frameworks to assess their technological and regulatory readiness. We begin by proposing nine technical criteria that a risk-assessment framework should meet to inform policy and action. These include the degree of quantifiability of outputs; the provision for systematic evaluation of the quality of input data; the consistency between exposure and effect data with respect to underlying mechanisms; the extent to which the complexity and diversity of environmentally realistic microplastics are addressed; readiness for integration into existing regulatory approaches; and the extent of real-world implementation to date. We discuss the specific strengths of each framework and recommend combining them into a single overarching framework that integrates these strengths.</p>

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Towards regulatory readiness: evaluating frameworks for microplastic health risk assessment

  • Albert A. Koelmans,
  • Hans Bouwmeester,
  • Emily A. Christopher,
  • Scott Coffin,
  • Andrea Haase,
  • Taylor Lane,
  • Juliette Legler,
  • Roel Vermeulen,
  • Maaike Visser,
  • Amelie Vogel,
  • Ira Wardani,
  • Runyu Zou

摘要

Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) have emerged as pollutants of high public concern. Assessing and managing the risks of these particles remains challenging for several reasons. A long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive risk-governance framework that includes risk framing, scientifically sound risk assessment that accounts for human and environmental safety, evaluation, and risk management/decision making. A realistic short-term goal is to develop a comprehensive human health risk assessment framework (RAF). Very recently, RAFs for evaluating the human-health risks of MNPs have become available; however, comparative analyses of these frameworks are lacking. Here, we discuss six established frameworks to assess their technological and regulatory readiness. We begin by proposing nine technical criteria that a risk-assessment framework should meet to inform policy and action. These include the degree of quantifiability of outputs; the provision for systematic evaluation of the quality of input data; the consistency between exposure and effect data with respect to underlying mechanisms; the extent to which the complexity and diversity of environmentally realistic microplastics are addressed; readiness for integration into existing regulatory approaches; and the extent of real-world implementation to date. We discuss the specific strengths of each framework and recommend combining them into a single overarching framework that integrates these strengths.