Plastic Contamination (Plastamination): An Environmental and Public Health-Related Concern

Dear Colleagues,

Plastic contamination (plastamination) from non-biodegradable and biodegradable waste represents the main anthropogenic change in the biosphere and has deep implications for biodiversity and ecosystem health. For long time, plastamination has been considered an environmental concern with possible health risks restricted to the marine species. Hence, there is a need to investigate environmental fragmentation in micro- and nanometer-range debris—called microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), respectively—their spatial distribution dynamics, mitigation, and effects on biota; in addition, standardized methodologies should be assessed for plastic characterization. In recent years, in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the ability of MP and NP debris to enter the food chain, bypass biological barriers, be internalized in cells, and target biological tissues like those of the gut, brain, and gonads. Apart from fish, the detection and the accumulation of MPs has been recently reported in terrestrial organisms, including humans. Ingestion of contaminated food, inhalation, and contact are the main exposure routes in humans. Hence, the worldwide diffusion of plastamination in daily life may have ecotoxicological and health risk outcomes like neuronal and reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity and inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic dysbiosis, or poor gamete quality in marine, freshwater and terrestrial organisms and, finally, humans. Improvements in waste recycling, circular economy principles, and the production of plastic-free foods are key steps in reducing plastamination. In addition, the introduction of biodegradable polymers and plastic-free food to the market may have a positive impact on the environment but does not ensure their biosafety due to the paucity of studies in the field.

This Topic aims at collecting research and review articles related to the following aspects in plastamination: (i) environmental plastamination: plastic pollution, bioplastic polymers, the fate and distribution of plastics, and plastic degradation, fragmentation, biodegradation, and mitigation; (ii) plastamination and health in cell lines, invertebrates, and humans: epidemiology, preclinical studies, and evidence from mammalian and non-mammalian animal models; and (iii) plastic production and management: the chemistry of plastic polymers, bioplastics, plastic-free food, and recycling.

Prof. Dr. Rosaria Meccariello
Dr. Antonino Testa
Prof. Dr. Francesco Cappello
Dr. Antonietta Santoro
Topic Editors