The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment: Critical Review and Model-Supported Reinterpretation of Empirical Studies
Open accessAbstract
The hypothesis that 'microplastic will transfer hazardous hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOC) to marine animals' has been central to the perceived hazard and risk of plastic in the marine environment. The hypothesis is often cited and has gained momentum, turning it into paradigm status. We provide a critical evaluation of the scientific literature regarding this hypothesis. Using new calculations based on published studies, we explain the sometimes contrasting views and unify them in one interpretive framework. One explanation for the contrasting views among studies is that they test different hypotheses. When reframed in the context of the above hypothesis, the available data become consistent. We show that HOC microplastic-water partitioning can be assumed to be at equilibrium for most microplastic residing in the oceans. We calculate the fraction of total HOC sorbed by plastics to be small compared to that sorbed by other media in the ocean. We further demonstrate consistency among (a) measured HOC transfer from microplastic to organisms in the laboratory, (b) measured HOC desorption rates for polymers in artificial gut fluids (c) simulations by plastic-inclusive bioaccumulation models and (d) HOC desorption rates for polymers inferred from first principles. We conclude that overall the flux of HOCs bioaccumulated from natural prey overwhelms the flux from ingested microplastic for most habitats, which implies that microplastic ingestion is not likely to increase the exposure to and thus risks of HOCs in the marine environment.
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Cites
Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife
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Self-citationPollutants bioavailability and toxicological risk from microplastics to marine mussels
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Self-citationEffects of Microplastic on Fitness and PCB Bioaccumulation by the Lugworm Arenicola marina (L.)
Besseling, E., Wegner, A., Foekema, E. M., van den Heuvel-Greve, M. J., & Koelmans, A. A. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es302763x · Cited by 1,012
Self-citationAccumulation of plastic-derived chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics
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Fouling of floating plastic debris under Biscayne Bay exposure conditions
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Intestinal absorption and biomagnification of organic contaminants in fish, wildlife, and humans
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Cited by
Horton, A. A., Walton, A., Spurgeon, D. J., Lahive, E., & Svendsen, C. (2017) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.190 · Cited by 3,756
Plastic and Human Health: A Micro Issue?
Wright, S. L., & Kelly, F. J. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00423 · Cited by 3,413
Microplastics in Freshwaters and Drinking Water: Critical Review and Assessment of Data Quality
Koelmans, A. A., Mohamed Nor, N. H., Hermsen, E., Kooi, M., Mintenig, S. M., & De France, J. (2019) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.054 · Cited by 2,535
Self-citationInteractions of microplastic debris throughout the marine ecosystem
Galloway, T. S., Cole, M., & Lewis, C. (2017) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0116 · Cited by 1,955
Airborne microplastics: consequences to human health?
Prata, J. C. (2018) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.043 · Cited by 1,852
Metadata
- Authors
- Koelmans, A. A., Bakir, A., Burton, G. A., & Janssen, C. R.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2016-03-07
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 3315-3326
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2300403628
- Cited by
- 1,599
- References
- 10
- FWCI
- 52.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment: Critical Review and Model-Supported Reinterpretation of Empirical Studies. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1021/acs.est.5b06069
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- Koelmans, A. A., Bakir, A., Burton, G. A., & Janssen, C. R. (2016). Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment: Critical Review and Model-Supported Reinterpretation of Empirical Studies. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b06069
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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