Occurrence and distribution of organic ultraviolet absorbents in sediments from small urban rivers, Tianjin, China: Implications for risk management

Occurrence of organic ultraviolet absorbers in the particle and gas samples from plastic greenhouses: Human inhalation intake risk assessment

The environmental pollution of organic ultraviolet absorbers (UVAs) has attracted global attention. However, the distribution, sources and risk assessment of UVAs in air from plastic greenhouses are rarely reported. This study was the first to investigate the concentrations of ten UVAs in the air samples from plastic greenhouses. The total concentrations of ten UVAs (∑10UVAs) in the air samples ranged from 5.7 × 103 ng/m3 to 6.3 × 103 ng/m3 (median 5.7 × 103 ng/m3) in greenhouses covered with biodegradable mulch film, 288.2 ng/m3 to 376.4 ng/m3 (median 333.9 ng/m3) in greenhouses covered with PE mulch film, and 97.9 ng/m3 to 142.6 ng/m3 (median 114.9 ng/m3) in greenhouses covered without mulch film. The concentrations of ten UVAs in 65 commercial agricultural films were simultaneously analyzed. Additionally, the potential health risks for greenhouse workers exposed to UVAs were estimated. And the migration simulations showed that the health risk in greenhouses may be higher even if only one UVA is added to the biodegradable mulch film. Therefore, the exposure risk of UVAs in plastic greenhouses needs to be highly prioritized.

Neurotoxicity of Benzotriazole Ultraviolet Stabilizers in Teleost Fishes: A Review

Plastic additives that maintain integrity have been extensively studied for potential toxicity to fish; however, chemicals that protect polymers from (artificial) UV degradation are less studied. Benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs) are the most widely used UV stabilizers in plastics and are often used in sunscreens, cosmetics, paint, and food packaging. BUVSs can negatively affect aquatic wildlife when released into the environment via plastic degradation. In this review, we summarize the distribution of BUVSs globally and discuss neurotoxicological endpoints measured in fish to understand how these plastic additives can affect the neurological health of teleost fishes. BUVSs have been detected in aquatic environments at concentrations ranging from 0.05 up to 99,200 ng/L. Studies show that BUVSs affect behavioral responses and acetylcholinesterase activity, indicators of neurotoxicity. Our computational analysis using transcriptome data suggests certain pathways associated with neurodegeneration are responsive to exposure to BUVSs, like "Complement Activation in Alzheimer's Disease". Based on our review, we identify some research needs for future investigations: (1) molecular studies in the central nervous system to define precise mechanisms of neurotoxicity; (2) a wider range of tests for assessing aberrant behaviors given that BUVSs can affect the activity of larval zebrafish; and (3) histopathology of the nervous system to accompany biochemical analyses. These data are expected to enhance understanding of the neurotoxicity potential of benzotriazoles and other plastic additives.

Distribution properties of ultraviolet absorbents in different species of biodegradable plastics

Ultraviolet absorbents (UVAs) in the environment have been of increasing concern because of their potential toxicity. However, data on UVAs in the biodegradable plastics are still limited. In this work, we determined the concentrations of 13 UVAs in 6 different types of biodegradable plastic products from Beijing, China, by an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and found the total concentrations in the range of 37.21-1,138,526 ng g-1. These target UVAs, BP (benzophenone), BP-3, BP-12, UV-328, UV-234, UV-326, UV-329, UV-360 and UV-P are prevalent in the plastic bags, garbage bags, food packaging bags, plastic lunch boxes and tableware, product packing bags and mulch films, except for BP-1, UV-320, UV-327 and UV-PS. This finding showed that the total concentrations of the 13 UVAs in biodegradable mulch films (mean: 1,138,527 ng g-1) were several orders of magnitude higher than those in the other 5 categories of samples (mean: 37.21-186.9 ng g-1). And the UV-328 and BP-1 were the most important components of UVAs in the biodegradable mulch films, with the levels ranging of 726,568-1,062,687 ng g-1 and 317,470-506,178 ng g-1, respectively. As the majority of UVAs were detected in biodegradable plastics, the potential risk of UVAs exposure may exist in the environment with the large-scale use of biodegradable plastics.

Combined pollution effects of Cu and benzotriazole in rice (Oryza sativa L.) verified by split-root experiment

Although the combined effect of organic ligands and heavy metals in the environment on plants have been frequently reported, their complexed interaction in plants and the physiological effects remain to be revealed. Metal complexing agent benzotriazole (BTR) has extensive environmental pollution. In this study, root-splitting experiments were designed to identify the in vivo and in vitro effects of BTR on the accumulation and translocation of Cu in rice (Oryza sativa L.), and the concentrations and translocation factor (TF) of Cu and BTR in different parts of rice were measured. In the in vitro interaction treatments, low BTR concentrations enhanced Cu uptake and lateral transport in rice, while higher levels of BTR's exposure (i.e., ≥ 100 μM) resulted in opposite effects. Differently, significant increase in the lateral transport of Cu and vertical translocation of BTR in rice presented in the in vivo interaction treatments. TF of Cu from root A to root B (TFRA-RB) increased from 0.05 to 0.272 with the BTR concentration increasing from 0 to 100 μM, and higher TF of BTR from root to shoot (TFR-S), ranging from 1.00 to 1.75, compared with single BTR exposure treatments was observed. The phytotoxicity of BTR expressed by the catalase activity was significantly alleviated by the in vivo accumulated Cu in rice.