Washington state Department of Ecology publishes list of seven new priority chemical groups for future regulatory scrutiny as part of the Safer Products for Washington program; includes lead, cadmium, and formaldehyde; earlier in 2024, Washington passed the strongest regulation on lead in cookware in the US
Scientists emphasize importance for LCAs to consider plastic particle impacts
Review provides understanding of how knowledge gaps on long-term plastic particle fate affect life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and distort policy decisions; exemplifies discussion comparing a fossil-based with a biodegradable plastic; highlights importance of covering plastic particle impacts and its unknowns transparently in LCAs to allow reliable material comparisons and responsible decision making
Researchers detect chemicals present in and migrating from PET bottles
Two studies analyze polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chemicals; identify several volatile chemicals present in and migrating from new PET bottles as well as from bottles commercially available in Japan; develop online method for quantifying non-intentionally added substances (NIAS)
Rare earth elements found in FCMs, recycled plastics
Researchers at University of Plymouth find rare earth elements in 24 of 31 tested products including children’s toys, food contact materials (FCMs); highest abundance in plastic recycled from electronic waste; authors suggest plastic recycling process as source for contamination; suggest elements as indicators for presence of other additives such as brominated flame retardants
Antimony migration in Turkish and Brazilian PET bottled beverages below TDI
Two studies assess antimony presence and migration from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles sold in Brazil and Turkey; detect antimony in almost all samples and in levels below Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI); find migration to increase with temperature, storage time, and beverage pH
Microplastics measured in newborn, infant, and adult feces
Small study assesses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) microplastics in human feces; finds PET and PC in all infant stool and in most meconium and adult stool samples; suggests higher exposure of infants than adults
Microplastics: recent insights into human exposure, cellular uptake, cancer metastasis
Researchers report plastic fragments may exacerbate breast cancer metastasis; review summarizes nanoplastic uptake into human cells; studies find occupational microplastics exposure can be reduced by wearing face masks; millions of micro- and nanoplastics are released during 30-second food blending; scientists more worried about microplastic impacts on the environment than humans
Properties of rPET-containing bottles
Scientists examine effects of recycled PET (rPET) on bottles’ properties, propose generic model to calculate acceptable rPET content for different scenarios; bottles from mono-collection systems have less particle contamination, more favorable optical properties, lower accumulation of contaminants, and therefore recommended to allow higher recycled content
Novelties of bioplastics: EC’s policy framework and industry updates
European Commission (EC) publishes policy framework on bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics; aims to guide policy, industry, and public; “bioplastics” should not distract from circular economy principles prioritizing reduction, reuse, recycling; 17th annual European Bioplastics conference gives insights into recent bioplastics’ developments; bioplastics production capacities projected to almost triple by 2027
Computational method outperforms animal tests
Predictions of acute health hazards by ‘data fusion’ read-across structure activity relationship (RASAR) modeling reported to be more reproducible than animal testing data