Exposure scenarios for human health risk assessment of nano- and microplastic particles
Abstract Evidence of nano- and microplastic particles being present in the human body has increased in recent years, yet there is no acceptable methodology to perform a human health risk assessment for these particles because of limitations in the exposure and hazard assessments. Exposure assessment...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Microplastics and Nanoplastics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-025-00134-9 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Evidence of nano- and microplastic particles being present in the human body has increased in recent years, yet there is no acceptable methodology to perform a human health risk assessment for these particles because of limitations in the exposure and hazard assessments. Exposure assessment can be improved by establishing comprehensive and justifiable exposure scenarios for a defined exposure demographic, thoroughly describing the relevant exposure pathways, and performing multidimensional data alignment, thereby facilitating probabilistic estimates of nano- and microplastic particle exposure. General considerations of exposure scenarios are outlined, along with specifics details on the complexity and prioritization for nine demographic groups: adults; women; the elderly; individuals with disease; individuals employed in high-hazard occupations; and children demographics, including early infants, toddlers, school children, and teenagers. Recommendations to advance exposure assessments and scenarios are also provided which suggest: i) the use of well-defined exposure scenarios for demographics that are prioritized according to their level of complexity and concern; ii) a thorough description of relevant activity factors (physiological parameters, behavioural traits) and exposure factors (duration, frequency, media characterization) for the chosen demographic; iii) thorough descriptions of exposure via ingestion and inhalation, and in the case of early infants, including exposure via maternal transfer; iv) multidimensional data alignment and probabilistic methods to enable credible comparisons of exposure data across studies and inform physiologically based toxicokinetic models to estimate internal exposure. |
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| ISSN: | 2662-4966 |