Opinion: It's Time to Classify Plastics as Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Pollutants

hubie writes:

A team of researchers from around the world is urging the international community to recognize the full environmental and health threat of plastics:

In a new Viewpoint published in Environmental Science & Technology the researchers argue categorizing plastics, including micro- and nano-sized particles as PBT pollutants would give governments the tools they need to better manage plastic production, use and recycling.

"We need to wake up the world and understand the risks of these pollutants," says University of British Columbia (UBC) ocean researcher Dr. Juan Jose Alava, lead author of the paper that includes researchers from Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and Asia.

[...] "We live in the age of plastic - the Plasticene," says Dr. Alava, principal investigator of the Ocean Pollution Research Unit at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. "There's plastic everywhere. It is in the ocean, coastal zones and terrestrial environment. It has been found in animals across the globe, human tissues and organs, and deep in the Mariana Trench - the deepest part of our ocean. They do not degrade easily, so they last for many, many years."

[...] Plastics are prone to accumulation in all organisms, with aquatic animals most at risk of exposure to micro- and nano-sized particle. These particles are toxic to marine animals - they can change gene and protein expression, produce inflammatory responses, affect brain development, and decrease growth and reproduction rates, while also preventing proper feeding and foraging behaviours.

"It's hugely important to remember that it's not just plastics," emphasizes Dr. Gunilla Oberg, coauthor from UBC's Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia. "Many plastic products contain chemicals that in themselves are known to be persistent, bioaccumulate and toxic."

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