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Abstract

23Global plastics production has reached 380 million metric tons in 2015, with around 40% used for 24 packaging. Plastic packaging is diverse and made of multiple polymers and numerous additives, along 25 with other components, such as adhesives or coatings. Further, packaging can contain residues from 26 substances used during manufacturing, such as solvents, along with non-intentionally added 27 substances (NIAS), such as impurities, oligomers, or degradation products. To characterize risks from 28 chemicals potentially released during manufacturing, use, disposal, and/or recycling of packaging, 29 comprehensive information on all chemicals involved is needed. Here, we present a database of 30 Chemicals associated with Plastic Packaging (CPPdb), which includes chemicals used during 31 manufacturing and/or present in final packaging articles. The CPPdb lists 906 chemicals likely 32 associated with plastic packaging and 3377 substances that are possibly associated. Of the 906 33 chemicals likely associated with plastic packaging, 63 rank highest for human health hazards and 68 34 for environmental hazards according to the harmonized hazard classifications assigned by the 35 European Chemicals Agency within the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulation 36 implementing the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System (GHS). Further, 7 of the 906 37 substances are classified in the European Union as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT), or 38 very persistent, very bioaccumulative (vPvB), and 15 as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC). Thirty-39 four of the 906 chemicals are also recognized as EDC or potential EDC in the recent EDC report by the 40 United Nations Environment Programme. The identified hazardous chemicals are used in plastics as 41 monomers, intermediates, solvents, surfactants, plasticizers, stabilizers, biocides, flame retardants, 42 accelerators, and colorants, among other functions. Our work was challenged by a lack of 43 transparency and incompleteness of publicly available information on both the use and toxicity of 44 numerous substances. The most hazardous chemicals identified here should be assessed in detail as 45 potential candidates for substitution. 46 47