Particulate plastics in drinking water and potential human health effects: Current knowledge for management of freshwater plastic materials in Africa

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dc.contributor.authorAngnunavuri, P.N.
dc.contributor.authorAttiogbe, F.
dc.contributor.authorMensah, B.
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-01T20:05:16Z
dc.date.available2023-02-01T20:05:16Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionResearch Articleen_US
dc.description.abstractPlastic materials have contributed to the release of environmentally relevant particulate plastics which can be found almost everywhere and may be present in drinking water. Human exposure to these materials is diverse and our understanding of their internalization in the human body is incipient. This review discusses the state of knowledge of particulate plastics exposure in drinking water and the potential risks of adverse health in the human body. Particulate plastics have problematized water systems worldwide, and about 4,000,000 fine plastics may be ingested from drinking water annually by an individual. Testing methods for these materials in environmental media are presently inconsistent and standard protocols do not exist. Their potential ecotoxicological consequences are recognised to be linked to their physicochemical diversity, biological transpositions, and cytological tolerance in living organisms. It is observed that toxicological endpoints are varied and lack properly defined modes of action. In particular, fine particulate plastics have been observed to translocate into body tissues and cells where they are capable of provoking endocrine disruption, genetic mutations, and cancer responses. We propose a reclassification of particulate plastics to cater for their biological deposition and attributable risks of adverse health. Environmental management of particulate plastics in many developing countries is weak and their potential releases into drinking water have received limited research. Given that large populations are exposed to fresh surface water and plastic packaged drinking water worldwide, and that the risk assessment pathways are unvalidated at the moment, we argue for developing countries to increase their capacity for the environmental monitoring and circular management of plastic materials. Large-scale epidemiological cohort studies and surrogate assessment pathways are also recommended to provide a better understanding of the hazard characterization of particulate plastics exposure.en_US
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120714
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/38544
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherEnvironmental Pollutionen_US
dc.subjectPlastic materialsen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmental epidemiologyen_US
dc.subjectToxicological hazardsen_US
dc.subjectDrinking wateren_US
dc.subjectDeveloping countriesen_US
dc.subjectHuman healthen_US
dc.titleParticulate plastics in drinking water and potential human health effects: Current knowledge for management of freshwater plastic materials in Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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