Incidence of microplastics in personal care products: An appreciable part of plastic pollution

Sun, Qing; Ren, Shu-Yan; Ni, Hong-Gang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140218

Cited by 168 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Although the total contribution of PCCPs usage to environmental contamination by microplastics is probably low (estimated at 0.02% for China, Cheung and Fok, 2017, and at 0.1% globally, Sun et al, 2020), the levels of microplastics found in sediment samples from Macao were amongst the highest reported in the world. Although there was some variation in the abundance of microplastics between the sampled sites, differences were not statistically significant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The probable route for these microplastics is to be transported via wastewater into the local WWTPs. However, due to incomplete removal by the WWTPs, it was estimated that over 37 billion particles per year may be washed into the local environment, representing 0.06 tons, from a total of 1,500 tons/year estimated to be globally released from PCCPs (Sun et al, 2020). It should be highlighted that microplastics in PCCPs are only one of the several sources of microplastics entering WWTPs (e.g., fibers from synthetic clothes washing, microbeads in cleaning products) and the overall number of particles released into the local environment is likely much higher.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal Care and Cosmetic Products as a Potential Source of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics in a Densely Populated Asian City

et al. 2021

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The prevalence of microplastics in the environment has become a major global conservation issue. One primary source of environmental microplastics is personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs) containing microbeads. The market availability of PCCPs containing microbeads and the level of contamination of coastal sediments by microplastics was studied in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Macao in China. We found that PCCPs containing microbeads are still widely available for sale in the region, with over 70% of surveyed PCCPs containing at least one type of microbeads as an ingredient, with polyethylene (PE) being the most common one. In an estimate, the use of PCCPs in the territory may release over 37 billion microbeads per year into the environment via wastewater treatment plants. The density of microplastics in coastal sediments varied between 259 and 1,743 items/L of sediment, amongst the highest reported in the world. The fraction of < 1 mm was the most abundant, representing an average of 98.6% of the total, and correlated positively with the abundance of larger sized fragments. The results show that although environmental pollution with microplastics released from PCCPs usage is significant, other sources, namely fragmentation of larger plastic debris, likely contribute more to the issue. The study highlights the magnitude of the problem at a local level and suggests possible mitigating strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Care and Cosmetic Products as a Potential Source of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics in a Densely Populated Asian City

et al. 2021

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“…These are called secondary MP. Then, there is the primary MP, which is materials that are produced at this small size for a specific purpose, micropellets in cosmetic formulations and in facial cleaners and body scrubs (median size of 0.2 -0.4 mm) [16] [39], microspherules in toothpastes (2 -5 μm in size) [40], microparticles in scrubbers used for air-blasting surfaces to remove paints and rust [41] [42] in paints and coatings [43], in detergents [43] and in drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration [1]. Recently, plastic micro-/nanoparticles have also been used in drug delivery systems [44] [45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

Habib¹,

Kendi²,

Thiemann³

2021

JEP

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“…For example, PCPs (e.g., makeup cosmetics, cleansing products) contain abundant microbeads (Nizzetto et al 2016). Based on the microplastic contents in PCPs and their consumption levels, the global emission of PCP-derived MPs could reach 1.2 × 10 4 t=year (Sun et al 2020). Generally, most PCP-derived MPs enter municipal sewage networks, along with runoff and other kinds of wastewater from domestic and industrial activities, all of which contain many kinds of MPs (Birch et al 2020b).…”

Section: Research Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial Overview: Emissions of Microplastics and Their Control in the Environment

2021

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Table 1. Recent reviews of research on microplastic pollution Review title Research subject Author and year Atmospheric microplastics: A review on current status and perspectives Atmospheric MPs Zhang et al. (2020b) Mini-review of microplastics in the atmosphere and their risks to humans Atmospheric MPs Chen et al. (2020a) Mini-review on current studies of airborne microplastics: Analytical methods, occurrence, sources, fate and potential risk to human beings Atmospheric MPs Huang et al. (2020) A new contaminant superhighway? A review of sources, measurement techniques and fate of atmospheric microplastics Atmospheric MPs Mbachu et al. (2020) An overview of analytical methods for detecting microplastics in the atmosphere Atmospheric MPs analysis Chen et al. (2020b) © ASCE 01821002-8 J. Environ. Eng.

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Incidence of microplastics in personal care products: An appreciable part of plastic pollution

Cited by 168 publications

References 67 publications

Personal Care and Cosmetic Products as a Potential Source of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics in a Densely Populated Asian City

Personal Care and Cosmetic Products as a Potential Source of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics in a Densely Populated Asian City

The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

Editorial Overview: Emissions of Microplastics and Their Control in the Environment

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