Tackl ing the global microplastic challenge

Hemda Garelick; Weiping Wu

doi:10.1515/ci-2023-0219

Article Publicly Available

Tackl ing the global microplastic challenge

Hemda Garelick
Hemda Garelick (Middlesex University, UK)
and Weiping Wu

Published/Copyright: April 10, 2023

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 45 Issue 2

On 7 November 2022, as part of the APCE-CECE-ITP-IUPAC 2022 Conference in the Sokha Siem Resort and Conference Center of Siem Reap, Cambodia, the IUPAC Division VI held a symposium entitled “The Environment, Health and Food Safety Impact of Microplastics.” The aim of this meeting was to bring scientists together to discuss this emerging pollutant and consider new solutions on how to tackle this challenge.

In recent years, microplastics have been recognized as a global problem. Microplastics have been detected in environmental compartments such as soil, freshwater, and oceans. They were also found in food, drinking water, and human bodies. However, their impacts on the environment, human health, or food safety are not fully understood yet. More research and new solutions are needed to address the rise in microplastic pollution worldwide.

Pictures of the speakers at the Symposium “The Environment, Health and Food Safety Impact of Microplastics” in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Above, Lokesh P. Padhye and to the right: Diane Purchase.

This symposium is part of IUPAC Project #2019-026-2-600 “The Environment, Health and Food Safety Impact of Microplastics” led by Weiping Wu, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, China. The project is bringing together polymer experts, analytical chemists, environmental scientists, and a diversity of stakeholders and experts from all areas to work together on this important, interdisciplinary topic.

Table 1

Lectures presented at the symposium “The Environment, Health and Food Safety Impact of Microplastics" on 7 Nov. 2022.

Microplastic pollution in the marine environment

Fani Sakellariadou (University of Piraeus, Greece)

Photodegradation of HDPE and assessing its contribution to microplastic pollution in coastal waters

Lokesh P. Padhye (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Recent advances in the analysis and impact of microplastics in food

Clementina Vitali (Wageningen University, The Netherlands)

Status of microplastics in India

Bipul Behari Saha (Sagar Group of Institutions, India)

An overview of the technologies for microplastic remediation

Diane Purchase (Middlesex University, UK)

Microplastics contamination and their impacts in soil ecosystems

Balwant Singh (University of Sydney, Australia)

We need easy and feasible methods to quantify microplastics in drinking water or wastewater

Hyunook Kim (University of Seoul, South Korea)

Pyrolysis-GC/MSxMS for monitoring of microplastic contamination in plastic recycling work places

Roland Kallenborn (Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway)

Pesticide sorption by microplastics and other constituents in Prairie rivers

Annemieke Farenhorst (University of Manitoba, Canada)

From macroplastics to nanoplastics: the presence of plastic particles in personal hygiene products and their possible impact on the environment and on human health

Hemda Garelick (Middlesex University, UK)

The symposium was chaired by Hemda Garelick from Middlesex University, UK. Fani Sakellariadou from the University of Piraeus, Greece gave a keynote talk titled “Microplastic pollution in the marine environment.” Balwant Singh from the University of Sydney (Australia) delivered an invited talk on “Microplastics contamination and their impacts in soil ecosystems.” Different views on the challenges of microplastics were presentedˆsee program summarized in the table.

Various topics including plastic product innovation, industrial leadership with extender producer responsibility, advanced plastic waste remediation and recycling techniques, diversified plastic waste management systems, together with strong commitments from local and international organizations and governments were discussed. The symposium outcomes will provide a scientific base to support the understandings and actions to prevent and reduce microplastic pollution and enhance the safety of humans, aquatic animals and the ecosystem. The symposium along with the IUPAC microplastic project will strengthen the role of IUPAC in contributing to solving environmental problems and enhancing the quality of food and life on a global scale.

https://iupac.org/project/2019-026-2-600/

Über den Autor / die Autorin

Hemda Garelick

Hemda Garelick (Middlesex University, UK)

Online erschienen: 2023-04-10

Erschienen im Druck: 2023-04-01

© 2023 IUPAC & De Gruyter. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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