This Joint Action responds to urgent research questions on the environmental sources, transport, fate, sinks, and impacts of PACs in the marine environment. The expected output of a potential Joint Call is new scientific knowledge gathered specifically to guide a regulatory decision-making process for protection of ocean health.
The countries currently involved are Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Spain.
The Joint Action aims to:
- Inform European policy frameworks such as the EU Plastics Strategy, REACH, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
- Complement related EU projects by focusing on ocean-specific aspects.
- Engage with stakeholders, particularly the industry, to promote preventive and science-based regulation.
To reach these objectives, the expert group involved in the scoping process has delivered a concept paper outlining the current state of knowledge, key research gaps, and recommendations for future action.
- Aaron Beck, Germany (scientific lead)
- Annika Jahnke, Germany
- Francesco Regoli, Italy
- Hans Peter Arp, Norway
- Richard Sempere, France
- Ricardo Beiras, Spain
- Soledad Muniategui, Spain
- Stefania Giannarelli, Italy
- Piet Vermeersch, Belgium
- Bavo De Witte, Belgium
- Fiona Regan, Ireland
Plastics contain numerous plastic-associated chemicals (PACs), including plasticisers, flame retardants, UV stabilisers, metals, pigments, and persistent substances such as PFAS, which can leach into the marine environment and harm organisms and potentially humans. Over 13,000 PACs have been identified, yet only about half have been screened for risk, and many of those assessed show hazardous properties. This expert group intends to identify the remaining knowledge gaps regarding the threats that PACs pose to the marine environment , highlighting the differences of these risks in comparison to PACs on land.