[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7058\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018We still don\u2019t know enough about the dangers of microplastics\u2019\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn 30 April, the European Commission\u2019s chief scientific advisors released its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/publications\/environmental-and-health-risks-microplastic-pollution_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Escientific view on the environmental and health risks of microplastics\u003C\/a\u003E. The opinion says this pollution could present a significant problem if it goes unchecked and public concern is growing, yet we simply don\u2019t have enough scientific evidence to understand the widespread risks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo find out the extent of the problem, what we know so far and what needs to be done, Horizon spoke to water expert Professor Bart Koelmans from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. He is chair of the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) working group, which reviewed the scientific evidence for the new report.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow bad is the microplastics situation today?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you just look at the facts that we know, microplastics are detected in many (places) all over the world, including biota, water, soil and the air. From an aesthetical or ethical reasoning, people would say, \u201cWell, we think it just doesn\u0027t belong there,\u201d then you could say it is already bad. However, others might say it\u0027s more important to first look at the real ecological risks, or human health risks. Then there is just a lot that we do not know. The topic is surrounded by large uncertainty.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat risk do microplastics pose to our health?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are just a handful of studies that report that there is microplastic in drinking water. There is some microplastic detected in some components of our diet, but it\u0027s so little that you would like to see these studies (about the presence of microplastics) repeated by other groups to make them more rigorous and then reliable. But we know that, of course, there are also microplastics in the diet, so people are exposed to microplastics. However, just the presence of these particles in our environment, or in our food, does not necessarily imply a risk.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For smaller plastic, like nanoplastic (less than 0.05mm wide), we know even less. We do not know what the exposure concentrations are and we know very little about the effects. However, we do know that very small particles of other materials, like asbestos, or very small particles that negatively affect air quality can have negative effects on human health when inhaled for longer times (at) higher concentrations.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does the new scientific opinion say about the risks?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We concluded that we did not see evidence for widespread risk at this moment. (But) we also saw that if nothing would happen (and trends continue), then it is not unlikely that the chances of a risk would increase somewhere in the future. And that somewhere would be like 50 years or 100 years.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow widespread are microplastics in the world\u2019s water supplies?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Very often it\u0027s a couple of particles per litre or even a couple of particles per cubic metre, which is rather low if you consider that organisms are used to living in an environment where particles are present.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the issues with regards to nanoplastics?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The issue with nanoplastic is that it\u0027s very small. And the hypothesis then is that because of its small size, it would be able to pass membranes, and therefore cells. So microplastic, which is bigger, for the most part would enter the gut of an organism and leave it, nanoplastics might pass membranes (and remain).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWould you say that public concern over microplastics surpasses what we actually know about them?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I agree with the concern. However, I do not always agree with the reasoning that supports the concern. I think that in the messages with the public or in the media, some of the nuances are lost (due to the simplification of issues).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs there enough evidence at the moment to support taking action on microplastics?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Yes, because lack of evidence also can support policy. We do not have solid data on what concentrations in the future will be, but if we do an educated guess, using models and data to try to predict whether, for instance, the concentrations of microplastics or nanoplastics in the environment will increase over the decades or decrease, then the answer is quite clear. It will not decrease, it will increase.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat needs to happen to tackle this issue?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is no silver bullet solution, the one solution that you can summarise in a couple of sentences and that\u2019s it. I think the solution has to come from a combination of things. Are there alternatives for some of the plastics that we use so that we can use less? Can there be other materials that can be used in products, so that there will be less plastics? Can we replace some of the polymers by other polymers that would cause less effects? And then how do we do this? So then there\u0027s the role for policy to stimulate this.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow long do we have to address the issue of microplastics?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think it just should start now. There is a lot of attention for it now, there are some budgets made available for research, there\u2019s a lot of movement towards the things I just mentioned. You see many groups and stakeholder groups becoming aware of it and starting to move to change. So I think that\u0027s a good thing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The first widespread effect that you could expect from microplastic would be decades, maybe 50 years or 100 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The good news about plastic is that it can be reversed. I think it is feasible to strongly reduce leakage to the environment, to such an extent that these risks are minor or absent or negligible. There is no widespread risk now and at least we can do something to make it so it will not become a widespread risk in the next decades.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-vhrgc7fqyobxe4z4kalhc880-hjnwjksybtkpq5f0rm\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-vhrGc7FQYOBXE4Z4kAlHc880_HjnWJksYBtkPQ5F0rM\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]