Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents

Abstract Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern but there is currently a lack of evidence on actual risks relating to them, despite claims in media and scientific articles. Research on people’s perceptions on microplastics is in its infancy. Here we present part of a larger survey about...

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Autores principales:	Christina J. Thiele, Malcolm D. Hudson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/67fc8dfa06684cc4b1b11147e19ecb87
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:67fc8dfa06684cc4b1b11147e19ecb872021-12-02T14:25:09ZUncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents10.1038/s41598-021-86569-52045-2322https://doaj.org/article/67fc8dfa06684cc4b1b11147e19ecb872021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86569-5https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern but there is currently a lack of evidence on actual risks relating to them, despite claims in media and scientific articles. Research on people’s perceptions on microplastics is in its infancy. Here we present part of a larger survey about people’s perceptions of issues with microplastics. Our analysis of 1681 responses across the globe to an online questionnaire demonstrates a certain level of uncertainty, not only in lay people but also respondents who study/work on the topic of plastics and microplastics as a pollutant. This uncertainty ranges from level of concern about microplastics as an environmental issue to existing evidence for effects. Further, there is some discrepancy between risk perception and state of the research. Some of this may be driven by scientific work with some serious limitations in reporting and methods. This highlights the need for fact-checking of circulating information about microplastics, but also for addressing the discordance between ecotoxicological risk and how risk is framed within the scientific community.Christina J. ThieleMalcolm D. HudsonNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Christina J. Thiele Malcolm D. Hudson Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
description	Abstract Microplastics are contaminants of emerging concern but there is currently a lack of evidence on actual risks relating to them, despite claims in media and scientific articles. Research on people’s perceptions on microplastics is in its infancy. Here we present part of a larger survey about people’s perceptions of issues with microplastics. Our analysis of 1681 responses across the globe to an online questionnaire demonstrates a certain level of uncertainty, not only in lay people but also respondents who study/work on the topic of plastics and microplastics as a pollutant. This uncertainty ranges from level of concern about microplastics as an environmental issue to existing evidence for effects. Further, there is some discrepancy between risk perception and state of the research. Some of this may be driven by scientific work with some serious limitations in reporting and methods. This highlights the need for fact-checking of circulating information about microplastics, but also for addressing the discordance between ecotoxicological risk and how risk is framed within the scientific community.
format	article
author	Christina J. Thiele Malcolm D. Hudson
author_facet	Christina J. Thiele Malcolm D. Hudson
author_sort	Christina J. Thiele
title	Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
title_short	Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
title_full	Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
title_fullStr	Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
title_full_unstemmed	Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
title_sort	uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/67fc8dfa06684cc4b1b11147e19ecb87
work_keys_str_mv	AT christinajthiele uncertaintyabouttherisksassociatedwithmicroplasticsamonglayandtopicexperiencedrespondents AT malcolmdhudson uncertaintyabouttherisksassociatedwithmicroplasticsamonglayandtopicexperiencedrespondents
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Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents

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