Plastic products contain a vast number of chemicals, some of which greatly impact the environment and human health.
However, information on the presence of individual substances in plastic products is oftentimes not publicly available.
In a peer-reviewed study, researchers have presented a new publicly accessible database on chemicals measured in plastics known as LitChemPlast.
The database contains over 3,500 substances measured in over 47,000 samples of plastic products across 372 studies.
Key discoveries about substances in plastic products
Key findings from the database include:
Contamination of recycled plastic products
The database shows that, due to inadequate control measures, mechanical recycling of plastics often leads to contamination with hazardous substances.
For example, brominated flame retardants have frequently been detected in toys.
Critical tools for research and policy
LitChemPlast is a significant step forward in better understanding how chemicals move through plastics’ different life stages.
The database provides real-world chemical data, including product concentrations, useful for improving models estimating human and environmental exposure to plastic chemicals.
Moreover, LitChemPlast enables researchers, regulators, and practitioners to identify chemicals of interest to regulation, find safer materials for recycling, and trace plastic pollution back to its source.
It may also assist in identifying hazardous chemicals that are non-intentionally added to plastics (so-called NIAS).
Substantial knowledge gaps still remain
LitChemPlast also highlights research gaps, such as limited regional coverage in low- and middle-income countries, a lack of nontargeted measurements for non-food packaging categories, and a narrow focus on well-known hazardous chemicals.
Future concerted efforts in these understudied areas are essential to support the transition toward a safe and sustainable circular plastics economy, including achieving full transparency of chemicals in plastic products.
Developing policies for safer material cycles
The open database can serve as a starting point for guiding future research on identifying and quantifying chemicals in plastics, developing policy measures for ensuring safer material cycles and supporting researchers, regulators and practitioners in better understanding the flow of chemicals throughout plastic products’ life cycles.
Finally, the authors encourage the scientific and regulatory communities to continue developing and using the database, which is part of the larger PlastChem database that was published earlier this year.
Zhanyun Wang, PhD, Scientist at Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology and corresponding author of the study, concluded: “Transparency of chemicals in plastics is crucial for ensuring safer material cycles, protecting human and environmental health, and fostering a sustainable circular economy.
“LitChemPlast marks a significant step in this direction, and we encourage widespread collaboration to expand and refine this valuable resource.”
