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Are bioplastics and plant-based materials safer than conventional plastics? In vitro toxicity and chemical composition

Environment international, 2020-12, Vol.145, p.106066, Article 106066 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

2020 The Authors ;Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved. ;ISSN: 0160-4120 ;EISSN: 1873-6750 ;DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106066 ;PMID: 32951901

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  • Title:
    Are bioplastics and plant-based materials safer than conventional plastics? In vitro toxicity and chemical composition
  • Author: Zimmermann, Lisa ; Dombrowski, Andrea ; Völker, Carolin ; Wagner, Martin
  • Subjects: Biopolymers ; Endocrine disrupting chemicals ; Food packaging ; Leachates ; Non-targeted chemical analysis ; Plastics - toxicity ; Polyhydroxyalkanoates
  • Is Part Of: Environment international, 2020-12, Vol.145, p.106066, Article 106066
  • Description: [Display omitted] •Most bioplastics and plant-based materials contain toxic chemicals.•Cellulose and starch-based products induce the strongest in vitro toxicity.•Most samples contain >1000 chemical features; the maximum is 20,000 features.•The material type does not predict toxicity or chemical composition.•Bio-based/biodegradable materials and conventional plastics are similarly toxic. Plastics contain a complex mixture of known and unknown chemicals; some of which can be toxic. Bioplastics and plant-based materials are marketed as sustainable alternative to conventional plastics. However, little is known with regard to the chemicals they contain and the safety of these compounds. Thus, we extracted 43 everyday bio-based and/or biodegradable products as well as their precursors, covering mostly food contact materials made of nine material types, and characterized these extracts using in vitro bioassays and non-target high-resolution mass spectrometry. Two-third (67%) of the samples induced baseline toxicity, 42% oxidative stress, 23% antiandrogenicity and one sample estrogenicity. In total, we detected 41,395 chemical features with 186–20,965 features present in the individual samples. 80% of the extracts contained >1000 features, most of them unique to one sample. We tentatively identified 343 priority compounds including monomers, oligomers, plastic additives, lubricants and non-intentionally added substances. Extracts from cellulose- and starch-based materials generally triggered a strong in vitro toxicity and contained most chemical features. The toxicological and chemical signatures of polyethylene (Bio-PE), polyethylene terephthalate (Bio-PET), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and bamboo-based materials varied with the respective product rather than the material. Toxicity was less prevalent and potent in raw materials than in final products. A comparison with conventional plastics indicates that bioplastics and plant-based materials are similarly toxic. This highlights the need to focus more on aspects of chemical safety when designing truly “better” plastic alternatives.
  • Publisher: Netherlands: Elsevier Ltd
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 0160-4120
    EISSN: 1873-6750
    DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106066
    PMID: 32951901
  • Source: MEDLINE
    Directory of Open Access Journals
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