Project description
Elucidating the impact of plastics on human health
Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) can reach aquatic, terrestrial and marine habitats and therefore can be found in food, drinking water, air and environmental media. The effects of MNPs on human health remain understudied. Addressing this, the EU-funded PlasticsFatE project aims to enhance current understanding on the impact of MNPs in the human body. To do this, it will implement a comprehensive measurement and testing programme to improve and validate the performance and applicability of available methods and tools for the identification of MNPs. The project's work will lead to a novel risk assessment strategy and support the health-relevant aims of European strategies for plastics.
Objective
"The main goal of PlasticsFatE (Plastics Fate and Effects in the Human Body) is to improve our present understanding of the impact of micro- and nano-plastics (MP/NP) and associated additives/adsorbed contaminants (A/C) in the human body. Human exposure to MP/NP may result from the widespread use of plastic products and their release to the environment, where they degrade to MP/NP particles. But plastics particles reach natural systems also as secondary by-products, e.g. from tyre wear or abrasion of textiles. As a consequence, these particles are found in food, drinking water, air and environmental media (food chain, soils). Despite recent efforts to assess the real dimension of human risks associated with MP/NP, our current knowledge is still insufficient. One of the reasons is the lack of reliable and validated methods that are able to generate the science-based data we need. PlasticsFatE will address this challenge and associated uncertainties by implementing a comprehensive measurement and testing program (""test the test""), including inter-laboratory studies, to improve and validate the performance and applicability of available methods and tools to MP/NP. The tested and validated approaches will be used to (1) identify and detect MP/NP and A/C in a variety of complex matrices, such as food (vegetables, fruits, beverages, fish etc.), human tissues and consumer products (tooth paste, beauty products), as well as relevant environmental media (air, drinking water, soils), and to (2) assess their (also long-term) fate and toxicity in the human body by using advanced cell culture and organ models that simulate real exposure to MP/NP in the respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract. The newly developed innovative approaches will be integrated into a novel risk assessment strategy specifically designed for MP/NP to provide the policy relevant and scientifically sound data needed to support the health-relevant aims of European strategies for plastics. PlasticsFatE is part of the European MNP cluster on human health."
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesfood technology
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulturefruit growing
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulturevegetable growing
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
G3 8HB GLASGOW
United Kingdom
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participants (27)
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48149 Muenster
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0363 Oslo
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2100 Kobenhavn
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91054 Erlangen
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3584 CX Utrecht
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6708 PB Wageningen
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12205 Berlin
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28006 Madrid
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00185 Roma
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80686 Munchen
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04318 Leipzig
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12489 Berlin
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2311 EZ Leiden
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1000 Ljubljana
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1180 Wien
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95447 Bayreuth
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10124 Torino
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00133 Roma
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75006 Paris
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157 80 ATHINA
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46980 Paterna
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
36030 Monte Di Malo
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48170 Zamudio
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5251 ZB Vlijmen
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
60486 Frankfurt
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06844 Dessau-Rosslau
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