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Occurrence and risk assessment of microplastics from various toothpastes

  • Gul Sirin Ustabasi
  • , Asli Baysal*
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Istanbul Aydin University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

74 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Microplastics have become a major environmental issue; their release from various products affects the aquatic environment. Personal care products such as toothpastes are recently being considered as a significant source of microplastics released to the aquatic environment. This study aims to assess the presence of microplastics found in toothpastes that are available in the drugstores and markets in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 20 samples were tested. Following the extraction procedure, obtained particles were quantified and then characterized by microscopic evaluation and surface chemistry analysis. Twenty percent of the samples were found to contain microplastics in the structure of polyethylene at concentrations varying between 0.4 and 1%. In order to evaluate the release to environment, a risk assessment was conducted and yearly microplastic emission caused by toothpaste consumption was calculated based on the results.

Original languageEnglish
Article number438
JournalEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment
Volume191
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water

Keywords

  • Environment
  • Microplastics
  • Risk assessment
  • Sea water
  • Toothpaste

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