Microplastics and Human Health Consortium
Plastic is an integral part of modern life. As plastic products age and wear, they break down into tiny particles known as micro- and nanoplastics. These particles are now widespread in our environment and have been detected in the human body, including blood, lungs, the placenta, and the brain.
While the environmental impacts of plastic pollution are increasingly recognised, much less is known about what micro- and nanoplastics may mean for human health. Addressing this knowledge gap requires careful, long-term research that connects exposure, biological effects, risk assessment, and options to reduce potential risks.
MOMENTUM brings together researchers from across disciplines to study the health effects of micro- and nanoplastics, to improve methods for assessing risk, and to identify strategies that may help limit exposure and protect human health. The programme aims to provide a solid scientific basis for informed decisions in policy, practice, and innovation.
Goals
The overall goal of MOMENTUM is to improve understanding of the potential health risks of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) and to support evidence-based strategies to reduce these risks. Under the MOMENTUM umbrella, multiple research projects have been carried out over time to address different aspects of microplastics and human health.
The current project, MOMENTUM 3.0, builds on insights from earlier MOMENTUM projects and brings together partners from universities, academic hospitals, research institutes, and industry. The project focuses on key research themes including risk assessment, health effects, microbial risks, exposure routes and interventions. These priorities align with the needs identified in the Knowledge Agenda 2025: Microplastics in our body, developed after a broad stakeholder consultation coordinated by ZonMw.
MOMENTUM 3.0 aims to move from fragmented knowledge towards an integrated approach that links exposure, biological effects, and risk management. A central objective of the project is the further development of an integrated human health risk assessment framework for MNP exposure. With growing evidence that inhalation, particularly in indoor environments, is a major route of exposure, MOMENTUM 3.0 places specific emphasis on indoor air exposure and on identifying interventions that could help reduce this exposure.
Specifically, MOMENTUM 3.0 aims to:
• Develop and apply an integrated human health risk assessment framework that accounts for particle-related, chemical, and microbial hazards associated with MNPs
• Advance mechanistic and toxicological understanding of how MNPs may affect the lungs and brain
• Assess microbial risks, including the role of MNPs as carriers of pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms
• Improve insight into exposure pathways, especially via indoor air, and design and evaluate interventions to reduce exposure in homes and workplaces
• Strengthen and sustain collaboration through the MOMENTUM network, connecting researchers across disciplines and linking science with policy, healthcare, industry, and society
Through these goals, MOMENTUM 3.0 seeks not only to generate new scientific knowledge, but also to provide a robust foundation for risk mitigation, innovation, and informed decision-making to protect human health.
Background
In 2018, ZonMw launched the first call within the Microplastics & Health programme, supported by the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland), resulting in the funding of 15 multidisciplinary breakthrough projects to jump-start research into the potential health effects of MNPs. Although these one-year projects (2019–2020) delivered important first insights, they also made clear that many key questions remained unanswered and that sustained, long-term research and collaboration would be needed to understand health effects, exposure routes, and possible solutions.
This realisation led to the formation of the MOMENTUM consortium and subsequent follow-up projects. A more detailed overview of how MOMENTUM developed over time can be found on the History of the MOMENTUM consortium page.
