The impact of microplastics on the environment is not clear, according to a study

Scientists say that there is not yet enough evidence to conclude that microplastics cause or do not cause damage to the environment, as a result of a review of more than 300 global studies.

The research team said that future research on the impact of microplastics should be much more focused, after the study found a significant "mismatch" between microplastic types measured in the environment and those tested for microplastics. laboratory effects.

Scientists and the public worry more and more about the presence of microplastics in the environment, with microscopic plastic beads, fragments and fibers found in waterways around the world, courses of Rural water to the great oceans.

A review of 320 studies conducted by York University found that surveillance tends to focus only on a fraction of the size range of microplastics, resulting in "major knowledge gaps" in our understanding of impact they have on the environment.

Microplastics have been defined as plastic particles of less than five millimeters. They can come from different sources, including cosmetics, tires and clothing such as fleeces.

The review concludes that particle concentrations detected in the natural environment are several orders of magnitude lower than those affecting diet, reproduction, growth, tissue inflammation and organismal mortality.

However, the study found that environmental monitoring studies typically involve larger particles, up to 100th of a millimeter, while effects studies often focus on much smaller particles, up to 10000th of a millimeter.

Polystyrene is the most analyzed material in laboratory effects studies, whereas in the real world, these particles represent only 5% of the controlled materials. This makes the conclusion about real impacts problematic.

The report's authors indicate that it is urgent to conduct further studies to fill the gaps in our scientific knowledge.

The study revealed that fragments and fibers dominated, with beads representing only 3% of the microplastic types detected.

Professor Alistair Boxall, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, said: "Our analysis suggests that there is currently little evidence to suggest that microplastics are causing significant adverse impacts.

"However, for the moment, we are trying to compare apples to pears when it comes to comparing monitoring data with effects data.

"There is an urgent need for better and more holistic monitoring studies, along with more realistic environmental effects studies on particle size and the types of materials actually present in the environment. l & # 39; environment.

"We believe that regulations and controls can focus on activities with limited impact and ignore the most polluting activities such as the release of small particles from the tires of our cars."

The study was funded by the Personal Care Products Council and published in the journal Toxicology and chemistry of the environment.

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More information:
Toxicology and chemistry of the environment (2018). dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.4268