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NTP report reviews carcinogenicity of benzophenone-3

U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) publishes draft technical report investigating carcinogenicity of photostabilizing ingredient, finds ‘equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity’; public peer review expert panel meeting set for December 12, 2019 with live webinar

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Microplastic impacts on child health: knowns and unknowns

Scientific commentary discusses pregnancy- and child-relevant exposure to and impacts of nano- and microplastics: finds 37 studies mostly on plastic particles in food and placental transfer, identifies major knowledge gaps, and advocates policymakers and industry to implement precautionary approaches; Nature Reviews Materials article proposes microplastic risk assessment framework

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Review of food packaging attributes on life cycle impacts

Peer-reviewed article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology reviews 71 published life cycle assessment (LCA) studies comparing packaging; investigates correlation of attributes such as recyclability and being biobased on total environmental impacts, recommends against focusing on individual attributes

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Plastic recycling: company commitments and chemical safety challenges

Scientists report most large companies commit to reducing plastic pollution but focus on recycling; extrusion of recycled materials and legacy compounds in recycled materials as safety challenge; some substances increase others decrease with the increase in recycled content in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles; tentatively identify 212 volatile chemicals in 57 different recycled PET flakes available in China; present migration model to characterize the exposure and risk of PET oligomers

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Ways forward to improve polymer assessment and management

Critical review evaluates regulatory approaches of polymer assessment and management; identifies critical knowledge gaps by comparison with recent scientific findings; proposes policy options for safe and sustainable polymer use; suggest more transparency, standardized testing procedures, and improved understanding of environmental fate and hazards