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The (partial) replacement of synthetic polymers with bioplastics is due to increased production of conventional packaging plastics causing for severe environmental pollution with plastics waste. The bioplastics, however, represent complex mixtures of known and unknown (bio)polymers, fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, flame retardant, pigments, antioxidants, hydrophobic polymers such as poly(lactic acid), polyethylene, polyesters, glycol, or poly(butylene succinate), and little is known of their chemical safety for both the environment and the human health. Polymerization reactions of bioplastics can produce no intentionally added chemicals to the bulk material, which could be toxic, as well. When polymers are used to food packing, then the latter chemicals could also migrate from the polymer to food. This fact compromises the safety for consumers, as well. The scarce data on chemical safety of bioplastics makes a gap in knowledge of their toxicity to humans and environment. Thus, development of exact analytical protocols for determining chemicals of bioplastics in environmental and food samples as well as packing polymers can only provide warrant for reliable conclusive evidence of their safety for both the human health and the environment. The task is compulsory according to legislation Directives valid to environmental protection, food control, and assessment of the risk to human health. The quantitative and structural determination of analytes is primary research task of analysis of polymers. The methods of mass spectrometry are fruitfully used for these purposes. Methodological development of exact analytical mass spectrometric tools for reliable structural analysis of bioplastics only guarantees their safety, efficacy, and quality to both humans and environment. This study, first, highlights innovative stochastic dynamics equations processing exactly mass spectrometric measurands and, thus, producing exact analyte quantification and 3D molecular and electronic structural analyses. There are determined synthetic polymers such as poly(ethylenglycol), poly(propylene glycol), and polyisoprene as well as biopolymers in bags for foodstuffs made from renewable cellulose and starch, and containing, in total within the 20,416–17,495 chemicals per sample of the composite biopolymers. Advantages of complementary employment in mass spectrometric methods and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is highlighted. The study utilizes ultra-high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometric and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic data on biodegradable plastics bags for foodstuffs; high accuracy quantum chemical static methods, molecular dynamics; and chemometrics. There is achieved method performance |r| = 0.99981 determining poly(propylene glycol) in bag for foodstuff containing 20,416 species and using stochastic dynamics mass spectrometric formulas. The results highlight their great capability and applicability to the analytical science as well as relevance to both the fundamental research and to the industry.
The effects of PM2.5 contamination on the health of Chinese residents and the assessment of associated economic losses
Vol 1, Issue 1, 2020
Issue release: 31 December 2020
VIEWS - 3508 (Abstract)
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Abstract
A proper evaluation of the health risks and economic burden incurred by urban residents due to air pollution is crucial for regional air pollution management, the formulation and execution of environmental policies, and the promotion of public health in China. Utilizing data on PM2.5 concentration and population density from 338 Chinese cities between 2015 and 2017, this study employs the Exposure-Response model to estimate the premature mortality and disease incidence linked to PM2.5 exposure. It also assesses the direct economic losses associated with PM2.5 pollution using the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) and Cost of Illness (COI) approaches. The findings indicate that: 1) Between 2015 and 2017, there was a slight improvement in PM2.5 concentration levels, yet the overall spatial distribution of pollution remained largely unchanged. The most polluted areas were concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and adjacent cities; 2) PM2.5 pollution has resulted in substantial reductions in both health and economic losses. Specifically, the number of residents affected by severe health issues due to pollution decreased by 23.9%, and the total economic loss for residents decreased by 24.24%, from 1824.96 billion yuan in 2015 to 1382.64 billion yuan in 2017; 3) The rising urbanization rate has intensified the health impacts and economic costs of PM2.5 pollution, particularly in cities with both high pollution levels and high urbanization rates, such as Beijing and Tianjin. Moving forward, it is imperative to implement tailored measures to enhance PM2.5 monitoring and control in key cities, thereby effectively safeguarding the health of urban residents.
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Prof. Hongxing Dai
Beijing University of Technology, China
