Objective EU member states are currently working towards the realisation of environmental goals specified in the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which aims to protect both human and ecosystem health. Microplastic particles (MPs) are emerging pollutants of increasing concern and are formed primarily when plastic waste degrades in the environment. The impacts of MPs on freshwater biota are not known, however, they may present a potentially persistent and ecotoxicological pollution problem. Accordingly, the goal of this project is to assess the environmental risk of MPs in freshwater habitats. To achieve this, a detailed investigation of MP environmental persistence will be carried out. This will provide environmental fate summaries for different polymer classes and enable the modelling of their degradation processes. This will be combined with laboratory studies to assess relevant sub-lethal endpoints such as reproduction, fitness, inflammation, and oxidative stress. As MPs are known to accumulate co-occurring organic pollutants, the toxicity of virgin MPs will be compared to MPs conditioned with relevant freshwater pollutants. This work will build towards a sophisticated state-of-the-art mesocosm study that will evaluate both MP fate and impacts in model ecosystems. The establishment of a novel framework for the environmental risk assessment of MPs will inform our ability to achieve conservation objectives taking into account MPs as emerging pollutants. The merit of this is that protection goals may be better accommodated in policy and management through the generation of so far unavailable data on MP persistence and environmental toxicity. Taken together, the project will generate so far unavailable data sets to assess for the first time the environmental impacts of freshwater MPs. Thus, the outcomes will highly relevant for academia, politics, stakeholders and society. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsfreshwater ecosystemsnatural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencesnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2014-EF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2014 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITAET FRANKFURT AM MAIN Net EU contribution € 159 460,80 Address Theodor w adorno platz 1 60323 Frankfurt am main Germany See on map Region Hessen Darmstadt Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
