The Known and Unknown: Investigating the Carcinogenic Potential of Plastic Additives.

Microplastics are routinely ingested and inhaled by humans and other organisms. Despite the frequency of plastic exposure, little is known about its health consequences. Of particular concern are plastic additives─chemical compounds that are intentionally or unintentionally added to plastics to improve functionality or as residual components of plastic production. Additives are often loosely bound to the plastic polymer and may be released during plastic exposures. To better understand the health effects of plastic additives, we performed a comprehensive literature search to compile a list of 2,712 known plastic additives. Then, we performed an integrated toxicogenomic analysis of these additives, utilizing cancer classifications and carcinogenic expression pathways as a primary focus. Screening these substances across two chemical databases revealed two key observations: (1) over 150 plastic additives have known carcinogenicity and (2) the majority (∼90%) of plastic additives lack data on carcinogenic end points. Analyses of additive usage patterns pinpointed specific polymers, functions, and products in which carcinogenic additives reside. Based on published chemical-gene interactions, both carcinogenic additives and additives with unknown carcinogenicity impacted similar biological pathways. The predominant pathways involved DNA damage, apoptosis, the immune response, viral diseases, and cancer. This study underscores the urgent need for a systematic and comprehensive carcinogenicity assessment of plastic additives and regulatory responses to mitigate the potential health risks of plastic exposure.

Voluntary commitments made by the world's largest companies focus on recycling and packaging over other actions to address the plastics crisis.

Plastic pollution has caused significant environmental and health challenges. Corporations that contribute to the make, use, and distribution of plastics can play a vital role in addressing global plastic pollution and many are committing to voluntary pledges. However, the extent to which corporation voluntary commitments are helping solve the problem remains underexplored. Here we develop a novel typology to characterize voluntary commitments to reduce plastic pollution made between 2015-2020 by 974 companies including the top 300 of the Fortune Global. We find that 72% of these companies have made commitments to reduce plastic pollution. About 67% of companies participating in voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) and 17% of non-VEPs participants made measurable and timebound commitments. However, rather than tackle virgin plastics, most companies target general plastics and frequently emphasize end-of-life controls with a primary focus on recycling. Growing commitments on plastic pollution are made by large and important companies, but significantly more efforts beyond plastic recycling are required to effectively address plastic pollution challenges.

Plastic pollution solutions: emerging technologies to prevent and collectmarineplastic pollution.

As plastic waste accumulates in the ocean at alarming rates, the need for efficient and sustainable remediation solutions is urgent. One solution is the development and mobilization of technologies that either 1)prevent plastics from entering waterways or2) collect marine and riverineplastic pollution. To date, however, few reports have focused on these technologies, and information on various technological developments is scattered. This leaves policymakers, innovators, and researchers without a central, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on the status of available technology to target this global problem. The goal of this study was to address this gap by creating a comprehensive inventory of technologies currently used or in development to prevent the leakage of plastic pollution or collect existing plastic pollution. Our Plastic Pollution Prevention and Collection Technology Inventory (https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/plastics-technology-inventory) can be used as a roadmap for researchers and governments to 1) facilitate comparisons between the scope of solutions and the breadth and severity of the plastic pollution problem and 2) assist in identifying strengths and weaknesses of current technological approaches. We created this inventory from a systematic search and review of resources that identified technologies. Technologies were organized by the type of technology and target plastics (i.e., macroplastics, microplastic, or both). We identified 52 technologies that fall into the two categories of prevention or collection of plastic pollution. Of these, 59% focus specifically on collecting macroplastic waste already in waterways. While these efforts to collect plastic pollution are laudable, their current capacity and widespread implementation are limited in comparison to their potential and the vast extent of the plastic pollution problem. Similarly, few technologies attempt to prevent plastic pollution leakage, and those that do are limited in scope. A comprehensive approach is needed that combines technology, policymaking, and advocacy to prevent further plastic pollution and the subsequent damage to aquatic ecosystems and human health.

Lifting baselines to address the consequences of conservation success.

Biologists and policymakers are accustomed to managing species in decline, but for the first time in generations they are also encountering recovering populations of ocean predators. Many citizens perceive these species as invaders and conflicts are increasing. It is time to celebrate these hard-earned successes and lift baselines for recovering species.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act at 40: status, recovery, and future of U.S. marine mammals.

Passed in 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act has two fundamental objectives: to maintain U.S. marine mammal stocks at their optimum sustainable populations and to uphold their ecological role in the ocean. The current status of many marine mammal populations is considerably better than in 1972. Take reduction plans have been largely successful in reducing direct fisheries bycatch, although they have not been prepared for all at-risk stocks, and fisheries continue to place marine mammals as risk. Information on population trends is unknown for most (71%) stocks; more stocks with known trends are improving than declining: 19% increasing, 5% stable, and 5% decreasing. Challenges remain, however, and the act has generally been ineffective in treating indirect impacts, such as noise, disease, and prey depletion. Existing conservation measures have not protected large whales from fisheries interactions or ship strikes in the northwestern Atlantic. Despite these limitations, marine mammals within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone appear to be faring better than those outside, with fewer species in at-risk categories and more of least concern.

Survey of Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae) for Lacrosse encephalitis virus and West Nile virus in Lorain County, Ohio.

From June through September 2003, we conducted a survey of female Aedes triseriatus (Say) for infection with La Crosse encephalitis virus (family Bunyaviridae, genus Orthobunyavirus, LACV) and West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) at three locations in Lorain County, Ohio. To determine infection rate and seasonal variation of both viruses in the Ae. triseriatus population, Ae. triseriatus were collected weekly by using gravid traps and CO2-baited CDC light traps and tested for virus by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In total, 170 pools comprised of 2,143 females were tested for LACV, of which seven were positive; the maximum likelihood estimate of infection rate combined throughout the season was 3.22/1,000. None of 170 pools comprised of 2,158 females tested for WNV were positive. LACV-positive pools were detected between late July and early September.