College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Pakistan.
Institute of Geographic Sciences &, Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 May 3;195(6):638. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-11242-5.
The present study aimed to find out the source, distribution, quantity, and incipient threats of the microplastics (MPs) released by food-packing plastic materials, plastic bags, bottles, and containers on human health, biodiversity, water bodies, and atmosphere. For this purpose, 152 articles about MPs (0.1 to 5000 µm) and nanoplastics (NP) 1 to 100 nm) were reviewed and interpreted their results in the present articles about microplastics. The highest plastic waste is generated by China (⁓ 59 Mt), the USA (⁓ 38 Mt), Brazil (⁓ 12 Mt), Germany (⁓ 15 Mt), and Pakistan (⁓ 6 Mt). The count of MPs (MPs/kg) in Chinese salt was 718, UK 136, Iran 48, and USA 32, while MPs in bivalves, i.e., in Chinese bivalves was 2.93, UK 2.9, Iran 2.2, and Italy 7.2 in MPs/kg, respectively. The MPs count in Chinese fish was 7.3, Italy's 23, the USA's 13, and UK's 1.25 in MPs/kg, respectively. The MP concentrations in the water bodies, i.e., USA, were 15.2, Italy 7, and UK 4.4 in mg/L, respectively. It was critically reviewed that MPs can enter the human body causing various disorders (neurotoxic, biotoxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic disorders) because of the presence of various polymers. The present study concluded that MPs were released from processed and stored food containers, either through physical, biological, or chemical means, which harshly affect the surrounding environment and human health. The study recommended that alternatives to plastic containers are glass and bioplastic containers, papers, cotton bags, wooden boxes, and tree leaves need to use to avoid direct consumption of MPs from food.
本研究旨在探讨食品包装塑料材料、塑料袋、瓶罐等释放的微塑料（MPs）对人类健康、生物多样性、水体和大气的来源、分布、数量和潜在威胁。为此，对 152 篇关于 MPs（0.1 至 5000μm）和纳米塑料（NP，1 至 100nm）的文章进行了综述，并对这些文章中关于微塑料的结果进行了解释。产生的塑料废物最多的国家是中国（⁓59 Mt）、美国（⁓38 Mt）、巴西（⁓12 Mt）、德国（⁓15 Mt）和巴基斯坦（⁓6 Mt）。中国盐中的 MPs（MPs/kg）计数为 718，英国为 136，伊朗为 48，美国为 32，而中国双壳贝类中的 MPs 计数为 2.93，英国为 2.9，伊朗为 2.2，意大利为 7.2 MPs/kg，分别。中国鱼类中的 MPs 计数为 7.3，意大利为 23，美国为 13，英国为 1.25 MPs/kg，分别。水体中的 MPs 浓度，即美国为 15.2，意大利为 7，英国为 4.4 mg/L，分别。有评论指出，由于存在各种聚合物，MPs 可以进入人体，引起各种紊乱（神经毒性、生物毒性、致突变性、致畸性和致癌性紊乱）。本研究得出的结论是，MPs 是通过物理、生物或化学手段从加工和储存食品的容器中释放出来的，这会对周围环境和人类健康造成严重影响。该研究建议使用玻璃和生物塑料容器、纸张、棉袋、木箱和树叶等替代塑料容器，以避免从食物中直接摄入 MPs。
