A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society
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Science Advice for Policy by European Academies A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE ON MICRO- PLASTICS IN NATURE AND SOCIETY Evidence Review Report No. 4 4 This Evidence Review Report has been produced under the auspices of the SAPEA Consortium, as a deliverable under Grant Agreement 737432 “Science Advice for Policy by European Academies” (SAPEA) that was signed by the Consortium and the European Commission on 22 November 2016. The text of this work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. The licence is available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Images are not covered by this licence. A list of the experts who contributed to the report is available in Annex 1. In accordance with Article 35, paragraph 1 of the aforementioned Grant Agreement, the Consortium identified all relevant interests of the experts requested to contribute to the Evidence Review Report, assessed whether an interest constituted a conflict of interests, and took — where relevant — measures to exclude that an interest could compromise or be reasonably perceived as compromising the impartiality or objectivity of the report. Further information about SAPEA’s working processes are available at www.sapea.info/guidelines. The information, facts and opinions set out in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission. The SAPEA Consortium is not responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained in this report by anyone, including the European Union institutions and bodies or any person acting on their behalf. This report can be viewed online at: www.sapea.info/microplastics ISBN 978-3-9820301-0-4 DOI 10.26356/microplastics SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies. (2019). A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society. Berlin: SAPEA. https://doi.org/10.26356/microplastics version 2019.1.1 PUBLISHER CONTACT SAPEA SAPEA Communications Office c/o acatech 13 Rue d’Egmont Pariser Platz 4a Brussels 1000 | Belgium 10117 Berlin | Germany [email protected] A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society Informs the forthcoming Scientific Opinion of the European Commission Group of Chief Scientific Advisors Version history Version Date Summary of changes 2019.1.0 10 January 2019 First published version 2019.1.1 21 January 2019 First printed version 3.4.2 removed erroneous reference to ‘elasticity’ added table 4.1 to table of contents amended caption of figure 4 to clarify date range of data updated professional affiliation of one expert corrected small typographical errors About SAPEA Spanning the disciplines of engineering, humanities, medicine, natural sciences and social sciences, SAPEA — Science Advice for Policy by European Academies — brings together outstanding knowledge and expertise from over 100 academies, young academies, and learned societies in over 40 countries across Europe. SAPEA is part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism, which provides independent, interdisciplinary, and evidence-based scientific advice on policy issues to the European Commission. SAPEA works closely with the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors. This Evidence Review Report will inform the GCSA’s Scientific Opinion on the topic, which will be available in Spring 2019. Funded through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, the SAPEA consortium comprises Academia Europaea (AE), All European Academies (ALLEA), the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC), the European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE), and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM). For further information about SAPEA, visit www.sapea.info 3 Table of Contents 07 FOREWORD BY SAPEA 09 FOREWORD BY THE WORKING GROUP CHAIRS 10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 16 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 21 Chapter 2. THE NATURAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES 21 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 Basics, definitions, polymer introductions 24 2.3 Exposure 28 2.4 Occurence 37 2.5 Hazards of nano- and microplastic particles 48 2.6 Risks 51 2.7 Modelling 58 2.8 Conclusions 62 Chapter 3. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES PERSPECTIVES 62 3.1 Introduction 69 3.2 The changing role of the media 67 3.3 Knowledge and risk perception 77 3.4 Decisions and behaviour 87 3.5 What is unknown 88 3.6 Conclusions 90 Chapter 4. REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE ASPECTS 90 4.1 Introduction 90 4.2 The current policy landscape 91 4.3 The three governing principles 95 4.4 Scientific underpinning of current legislation 99 4.5 Current directives/conventions 100 4.6 Implementation and enforcement 103 4.7 Voluntary arrangements 104 4.8 Governance 105 4.9 Conclusions 107 Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS AND OPTIONS 4 Table of Contents ANNEX 1 118 Working Group Members ANNEX 2 120 External Contributing Experts and Workshop Participants ANNEX 3 121 Acknowledgements ANNEX 4 122 Glossary of Terms ANNEX 5 126 List of Abbreviations ANNEX 6 128 Systematic Literature Search Method Report LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURE 1 20 Summary of what this report aims to review FIGURE 2 44 Reported impacts of nano- and microplastics on biota FIGURE 3 63 How plastic moves from the economy into the environment FIGURE 4 65 Scientific publications FIGURE 5 65 Monthly number of news items TABLE 4.1 93 Overview of EU legislation and policies on (micro-)plastics 5 6 Foreword by SAPEA A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society is the fourth Evidence Review Report to be published by the SAPEA consortium. In this report, we were asked to review the current evidence on health, environmental and societal impacts of nano- and microplastic pollution. The interest, concern and uncertainties surrounding nano- and microplastics and the heightened media attention on plastic pollution, coupled with the many unknowns, make the project very timely. The broad scope and complexity of the issue have presented many challenges, while the topicality of the subject makes it especially important. SAPEA is an integral part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism. This Evidence Review Report is presented to the European Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA), informing the GCSA’s Scientific Opinion, which will be published in 2019. The Scientific Opinion is delivered directly to the College of Commissioners. Both documents will be used by the European Commission for planning and policymaking. By such means, the best available science, distilled and analysed by the leading experts in Europe, should have a direct and tangible impact on decisions taken by the European Commission which influences the lives of some 500 million people across our continent. In this project, SAPEA assembled a large multi-disciplinary working group, with world-leading expertise in the natural, behavioural and political sciences. The Network FEAM led the project. The working group provided specialist knowledge on subjects ranging from nano- and microplastics, polymer science, marine pollution, ecology, toxicology, risk assessment, human health, computer modelling, regulatory processes, behavioural sciences, media and communication, risk perception and attitude and behaviour research, and more. The resulting report reflects not only the outstanding knowledge of the experts, but also their exemplary commitment to the voluntary task of collaborating in an interdisciplinary way and bringing the best and latest scientific knowledge into policymaking. We would like to thank everyone involved in making it a success and express our sincere gratitude to those who have contributed, especially the working group members and excellent Chairs. Professor George Griffin Professor Sierd Cloetingh President of FEAM, 2018–2020 Chair of SAPEA Board, 2018–2019 President of Academia Europaea, 2014–2020 7 8 Foreword by the Working Group Chairs As scientists deeply involved in the broad topic of plastic debris in the environment, we were both happy to accept the invitation by SAPEA to summarise the evidence base with respect to nano and microplastics in nature and society. Nano- and microplastics (NMPs) are tiny plastic particles of mixed shapes and sizes, which have been found in air, soil, freshwater, seas, in biota, and in several components of our diet. This is a fast-moving science and policy area, and here we offer our scientific perspective on the current state-of-the-art knowledge about NMPs and highlight the features and complexities of the topic. Traditionally, the topic of NMPs has been addressed within separate scientific disciplines, but the consensus is increasingly that we need multidisciplinary approaches to understand the impacts and implications of pollutants such as microplastics for the environment and society and to understand how to use this complex evidence base better, to help define policy and find solutions. This is what we consider to be the unique aspect of this report: it reviews relevant evidence from the social and behavioural sciences (e.g. on behaviour change, risk perception, media coverage), in conjunction with the current natural sciences evidence (e.g. on sources, occurrence, hazards, risks), which is crucial to designing effective policies. Evidence from the environmental, computer modelling, social, behavioural and political sciences are reviewed and presented from an interdisciplinary perspective. We would like to thank the working group. The project had a very tight time schedule, and each