Towards regulatory readiness: evaluating frameworks for microplastic health risk assessment
10 affiliations
- 1Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- 2Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- 3Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, UK
- 4State Water Resources Control Board, 1001 I St., Sacramento, CA, 95814, USA
- 5Department of Chemical Sciences, University of the Western Cape (UWC), Bellville, 7535, South Africa
- 6Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Strasse 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
- 7Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Pharmacy, Königin-Luise Strasse 2-4, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- 8Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TD, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 9National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- 10Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) have emerged as pollutants of high public concern. Assessing and managing the risks of these particles remains challenging for several reasons. A long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive risk-governance framework that includes risk framing, scientifically sound risk assessment that accounts for human and environmental safety, evaluation, and risk management/decision making. A realistic short-term goal is to develop a comprehensive human health risk assessment framework (RAF). Very recently, RAFs for evaluating the human-health risks of MNPs have become available; however, comparative analyses of these frameworks are lacking. Here, we discuss six established frameworks to assess their technological and regulatory readiness. We begin by proposing nine technical criteria that a risk-assessment framework should meet to inform policy and action. These include the degree of quantifiability of outputs; the provision for systematic evaluation of the quality of input data; the consistency between exposure and effect data with respect to underlying mechanisms; the extent to which the complexity and diversity of environmentally realistic microplastics are addressed; readiness for integration into existing regulatory approaches; and the extent of real-world implementation to date. We discuss the specific strengths of each framework and recommend combining them into a single overarching framework that integrates these strengths.
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BibTeX
@article{koelmans2026towards,
title = {{Towards regulatory readiness: evaluating frameworks for microplastic health risk assessment}},
author = {Albert A. Koelmans and Hans Bouwmeester and Emily A. Christopher and Scott Coffin and Andrea Haase and Taylor Lane and Juliette Legler and Roel C.H. Vermeulen and Maaike Visser and Amelie Vogel and Ira Wardani and Runyu Zou},
journal = {Microplastics and Nanoplastics},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1186/s43591-026-00199-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-026-00199-0},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Towards regulatory readiness: evaluating frameworks for microplastic health risk assessment
AU - Albert A. Koelmans
AU - Hans Bouwmeester
AU - Emily A. Christopher
AU - Scott Coffin
AU - Andrea Haase
AU - Taylor Lane
AU - Juliette Legler
AU - Roel C.H. Vermeulen
AU - Maaike Visser
AU - Amelie Vogel
AU - Ira Wardani
AU - Runyu Zou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/19
JO - Microplastics and Nanoplastics
DO - 10.1186/s43591-026-00199-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-026-00199-0
AB - Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) have emerged as pollutants of high public concern. Assessing and managing the risks of these particles remains challenging for several reasons. A long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive risk-governance framework that includes risk framing, scientifically sound risk assessment that accounts for human and environmental safety, evaluation, and risk management/decision making. A realistic short-term goal is to develop a comprehensive human health risk assessment framework (RAF). Very recently, RAFs for evaluating the human-health risks of MNPs have become available; however, comparative analyses of these frameworks are lacking. Here, we discuss six established frameworks to assess their technological and regulatory readiness. We begin by proposing nine technical criteria that a risk-assessment framework should meet to inform policy and action. These include the degree of quantifiability of outputs; the provision for systematic evaluation of the quality of input data; the consistency between exposure and effect data with respect to underlying mechanisms; the extent to which the complexity and diversity of environmentally realistic microplastics are addressed; readiness for integration into existing regulatory approaches; and the extent of real-world implementation to date. We discuss the specific strengths of each framework and recommend combining them into a single overarching framework that integrates these strengths.
SN - 2662-4966
ER -