Critical Analysis of Chemicals of Concern in the PlastChem Report

Chemical compounds released from plastics are of great concern, as some of the chemicals could be hazardous to the environment and human health. Monclús et al.1 applied a hazard-based approach to an extensive data set of 16,325 known plastic chemicals (the PlastChem database) and identified 4,219 chemicals of concern, which are persistent, bioaccumulative, mobile, or toxic. A small portion of the chemicals of concern (568) are already regulated globally, while the rest of them are not (these 3,651 chemicals constitute a so-called Red List in the full PlastChem report2). Due to the enormous importance of the chemicals of concern, a recent Nature Editorial3 as well as articles published in other high-impact scientific journals4,5 called for immediate action. In particular, they insist that the chemicals of concern should be regulated within the scope of the forthcoming Plastic Treaty currently (developed under UNEA Resolution 5/14)6. Here we report a critical overview of the list of chemicals of concern1, 2 and argue that the list requires further in-depth analysis and extensive revision before adoption by any global regulatory framework.