Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Bygningstorvet, Building 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
University of Gothenburg, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Medicinaregatan 18A, 41390 Göteborg, Sweden.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jun 1;626:720-726. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.092. Epub 2018 Feb 19.
Microplastic research in recent years has shown that small plastic particles are found almost everywhere we look. Besides aquatic and terrestrial environments, this also includes aquatic species intended for human consumption and several studies have reported their prevalence in other food products and beverages. The scientific as well as public debate has therefore increasingly focused on human health implications of microplastic exposure. However, there is a big discrepancy between the magnitude of this debate and actual scientific findings, which have merely shown the presence of microplastics in certain products. While plastics can undoubtedly be hazardous to human health due to toxicity of associated chemicals or as a consequence of particle toxicity, the extent to which microplastics in individual food products and beverages contribute to this is debatable. Considering the enormous use of plastic materials in our everyday lives, microplastics from food products and beverages likely only constitute a minor exposure pathway for plastic particles and associated chemicals to humans. But as this is rarely put into perspective, the recent debate has created a skewed picture of human plastic exposure. We risk pulling the focus away from the root of the problem: the way in which we consume, use and dispose of plastics leading to their widespread presence in our everyday life and in the environment. Therefore we urge for a more careful and balanced discussion which includes these aspects.
近年来的微塑料研究表明，我们几乎在任何地方都能发现小塑料颗粒。除了水生和陆地环境，这也包括供人类食用的水生物种，并且有几项研究报告称在其他食品和饮料中也存在这些塑料颗粒。因此，科学界和公众的争论越来越集中在微塑料暴露对人类健康的影响上。然而，这场争论的规模与实际的科学发现之间存在很大的差距，这些科学发现仅仅表明某些产品中存在微塑料。虽然由于相关化学物质的毒性或颗粒毒性，塑料无疑对人类健康有害，但在个体食品和饮料中微塑料对其的贡献程度仍存在争议。考虑到我们日常生活中塑料材料的大量使用，食品和饮料中的微塑料可能只是人类接触塑料颗粒和相关化学物质的一个次要途径。但是，由于很少有人从这个角度来看待这个问题，最近的争论使得人类塑料暴露的情况出现了偏差。我们有可能将注意力从问题的根源上转移开：我们消费、使用和处理塑料的方式导致它们广泛存在于我们的日常生活和环境中。因此，我们敦促进行更谨慎和平衡的讨论，其中包括这些方面。
