1
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Zhu Z, Cao X, Wang K, Guan Y, Ma Y, Li Z, Guan J. The environmental effects of microplastics and microplastic derived dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 933:173163. [PMID: 38735318 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Currently, microplastics (MPs) have ubiquitously distributed in different aquatic environments. Due to the unique physicochemical properties, MPs exhibit a variety of environmental effects with the coexisted contaminants. MPs can not only alter the migration of contaminants via vector effect, but also affect the transformation process and fate of contaminants via environmental persistent free radicals (EPFRs). The aging processes may enhance the interaction between MPs and co-existed contaminants. Thus, it is of great significance to review the aging mechanism of MPs and the influence of coexisted substances, the formation mechanism of EPFRs, environmental effects of MPs and relevant mechanism. Moreover, microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) may also influence the elemental biogeochemical cycles and the relevant environmental processes. However, the environmental implications of MP-DOM are rarely outlined. Finally, the knowledge gaps on environmental effects of MPs were proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Zhu
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Xu Cao
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Kezhi Wang
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Yujie Guan
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Yuqi Ma
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Zhuoyu Li
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China
| | - Jiunian Guan
- School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China.
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2
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Mladinich K, Holohan BA, Shumway SE, Ward JE. Abundance of microplastics at and near a shellfish aquaculture farm: An eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) transplant study. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 199:106606. [PMID: 38917662 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Microplastics (MP) have repeatedly been found in commercially cultured species of bivalves. There are concerns regarding the amount of MP released into the environment by aquaculture activities, and questions regarding possible higher MP loads in farm-grown shellfish compared to levels in shellfish collected from recreational beds. To explore this concept, seawater, aquaculture gear, and eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) were sampled from an aquaculture site in Niantic Bay, CT, USA, and a 2-week transplantation experiment was performed in which oysters were transplanted between the aquaculture site and a plastic-free cage off the dock at the University of Connecticut-Avery Point campus. The digestive gland-stomach complex (gut) was dissected from the oysters and MP were extracted from the adjacent seawater and oyster gut samples using previously validated extraction methods. Extensive quality assurance and control measures were taken to reduce MP contamination. Particles in all samples were isolated, imaged under a stereomicroscope, and characterized (size, shape, polymer) using ImageJ software and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Water samples contained 0-0.3 MP/L and oyster gut samples contained 0-1.3 MP/g wet weight indicating very low concentrations of MP at the farm (0-2 MP/individual) or away from the farm (0-3 MP/individual). Aquaculture gear in this area is not contributing to MP ingestion in farmed oysters or elevated MP levels in the surrounding water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla Mladinich
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecosset Rd, Groton, CT, 06340, United States.
| | - Bridget A Holohan
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecosset Rd, Groton, CT, 06340, United States
| | - Sandra E Shumway
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecosset Rd, Groton, CT, 06340, United States
| | - J Evan Ward
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecosset Rd, Groton, CT, 06340, United States
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3
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Elmer-Dixon MM, Fawcett LP, Sorensen EN, Maurer-Jones MA. Bovine Serum Albumin Bends Over Backward to Interact with Aged Plastics: A Model for Understanding Protein Attachment to Plastic Debris. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:10207-10215. [PMID: 38809092 PMCID: PMC11171446 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Plastic pollution, a major environmental crisis, has a variety of consequences for various organisms within aquatic systems. Beyond the direct toxicity, plastic pollution has the potential to absorb biological toxins and invasive microbial species. To better understand the capability of environmental plastic debris to adsorb these species, we investigated the binding of the model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) to polyethylene (PE) films at various stages of photodegradation. Circular dichroism and fluorescence studies revealed that BSA undergoes structural rearrangement to accommodate changes to the polymer's surface characteristics (i.e., crystallinity and oxidation state) that occur as the result of photodegradation. To understand how protein structure may inform docking of whole organisms, we studied biofilm formation of bacteriaShewanella oneidensison the photodegraded PE. Interestingly, biofilms preferentially formed on the photodegraded PE that correlated with the state of weathering that induced the most significant structural rearrangement of BSA. Taken together, our work suggests that there are optimal physical and chemical properties of photodegraded polymers that predict which plastic debris will carry biochemical or microbial hitchhikers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M. Elmer-Dixon
- Department
of Physics & Astronomy, University of
Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, United States
- Department
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, United States
| | - Liam P. Fawcett
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, United States
| | - Emma N. Sorensen
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, United States
| | - Melissa A. Maurer-Jones
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, United States
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4
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Choi NE, Lee YK, Oh H, Hur J. Photo-induced leaching behaviors and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter from microplastics and terrestrial-sourced particles. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 355:141826. [PMID: 38552805 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Recent studies have increasingly focused on the occurrence of plastic leachate and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Nonetheless, the environmental fate of this leachate in the presence of abundant natural organic matter (NOM)-a typical scenario in environments contaminated with plastics-remains underexplored. This study investigates the photo-induced leaching behaviors of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from terrestrial-sourced particles (forest soil and leaf litter) and microplastics (MPs), specifically polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), over a two-week period. We also examined the biodegradability and spectroscopic characteristics of the leached DOM from both sources. Our results reveal that DOM from microplastics (MP-DOM) demonstrates more persistent leaching behavior compared to terrestrial-derived DOM, even with lesser quantities per unit of organic carbon. UV irradiation was found to enhance DOM leaching across all particle types. However, the photo-induced leaching behaviors of fluorescent components varied with the particle type. The MP group exhibited a broader range and higher biodegradability (ranging from 19.7% to 61.6%) compared to the terrestrial-sourced particles (ranging from 3.7% to 16.5%). DOM leached under UV irradiation consistently showed higher biodegradability than that under dark conditions. Furthermore, several fluorescence characteristics of DOM, such as the protein/phenol-like component (%C2), terrestrial humic-like component (%C3), and humification index (HIX)-traditionally used to indicate the biodegradability of natural organic matter-were also effective in assessing MP-DOM (with correlation coefficients R2 = 0.6055 (p = 0.003), R2 = 0.5389 (p = 0.007), and R2 = 0.4640 (p = 0.015), respectively). This study provides new insights into the potential differences in environmental fate between MP-DOM and NOM in aquatic environments heavily contaminated with MPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Eun Choi
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, South Korea
| | - Yun Kyung Lee
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, South Korea
| | - Haeseong Oh
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, South Korea
| | - Jin Hur
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, South Korea.
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5
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Wohlleben W, Bossa N, Mitrano DM, Scott K. Everything falls apart: How solids degrade and release nanomaterials, composite fragments, and microplastics. NANOIMPACT 2024; 34:100510. [PMID: 38759729 DOI: 10.1016/j.impact.2024.100510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
To ensure the safe use of materials, one must assess the identity and quantity of exposure. Solid materials, such as plastics, metals, coatings and cements, degrade to some extent during their life cycle, and releases can occur during manufacturing, use and end-of-life. Releases (e.g., what is released, how does release happen, and how much material is released) depend on the composition and internal (nano)structures of the material as well as the applied stresses during the lifecycle. We consider, in some depth, releases from mechanical, weathering and thermal stresses and specifically address the use cases of fused-filament 3D printing, dermal contact, food contact and textile washing. Solid materials can release embedded nanomaterials, composite fragments, or micro- and nanoplastics, as well as volatile organics, ions and dissolved organics. The identity of the release is often a heterogenous mixture and requires adapted strategies for sampling and analysis, with suitable quality control measures. Control materials enhance robustness by enabling comparative testing, but reference materials are not always available as yet. The quantity of releases is typically described by time-dependent rates that are modulated by the nature and intensity of the applied stress, the chemical identity of the polymer or other solid matrix, and the chemical identity and compatibility of embedded engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) or other additives. Standardization of methods and the documentation of metadata, including all the above descriptors of the tested material, applied stresses, sampling and analytics, are identified as important needs to advance the field and to generate robust, comparable assessments. In this regard, there are strong methodological synergies between the study of all solid materials, including the study of micro- and nanoplastics. From an outlook perspective, we review the hazard of the released entities, and show how this informs risk assessment. We also address the transfer of methods to related issues such as tyre wear, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing, biodegradable polymers, and non-solid matrices. As the consideration of released entities will become more routine in industry via lifecycle assessment in Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design practices, release assessments will require careful design of the study with quality controls, the use of agreed-on test materials and standardized methods where these exist and the adoption of clearly defined data reporting practices that enable data reuse, meta-analyses, and comparative studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendel Wohlleben
- BASF SE, Dept. of Analytical and Materials Science, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany.
| | - Nathan Bossa
- TEMAS Solutions GmbH, Lätterweg 5, 5212 Hausen, Switzerland; Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, United States
| | - Denise M Mitrano
- Environmental Systems Science Department, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Keana Scott
- Materials Measurement Science Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, MS-8372, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States
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6
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Jansen MAK, Andrady AL, Bornman JF, Aucamp PJ, Bais AF, Banaszak AT, Barnes PW, Bernhard GH, Bruckman LS, Busquets R, Häder DP, Hanson ML, Heikkilä AM, Hylander S, Lucas RM, Mackenzie R, Madronich S, Neale PJ, Neale RE, Olsen CM, Ossola R, Pandey KK, Petropavlovskikh I, Revell LE, Robinson SA, Robson TM, Rose KC, Solomon KR, Andersen MPS, Sulzberger B, Wallington TJ, Wang QW, Wängberg SÅ, White CC, Young AR, Zepp RG, Zhu L. Plastics in the environment in the context of UV radiation, climate change and the Montreal Protocol: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2023. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2024; 23:629-650. [PMID: 38512633 DOI: 10.1007/s43630-024-00552-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
This Assessment Update by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) considers the interactive effects of solar UV radiation, global warming, and other weathering factors on plastics. The Assessment illustrates the significance of solar UV radiation in decreasing the durability of plastic materials, degradation of plastic debris, formation of micro- and nanoplastic particles and accompanying leaching of potential toxic compounds. Micro- and nanoplastics have been found in all ecosystems, the atmosphere, and in humans. While the potential biological risks are not yet well-established, the widespread and increasing occurrence of plastic pollution is reason for continuing research and monitoring. Plastic debris persists after its intended life in soils, water bodies and the atmosphere as well as in living organisms. To counteract accumulation of plastics in the environment, the lifetime of novel plastics or plastic alternatives should better match the functional life of products, with eventual breakdown releasing harmless substances to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel A K Jansen
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College, Cork, Ireland.
| | - Anthony L Andrady
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Janet F Bornman
- Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.
| | | | - Alkiviadis F Bais
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Anastazia T Banaszak
- Unidad Académica Sistemas Arrecifales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
| | - Paul W Barnes
- Department of Biological Sciences and Environment Program, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | | | - Laura S Bruckman
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rosa Busquets
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kingston University London, Kingston Upon Thames, UK
| | | | - Mark L Hanson
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | | | - Samuel Hylander
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Robyn M Lucas
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Roy Mackenzie
- Centro Universitario Cabo de Hornos, Universidad de Magallanes, Puerto Williams, Chile
- Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems BASE, Santiago, Chile
- Cape Horn International Center CHIC, Puerto Williams, Chile
| | - Sasha Madronich
- UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Patrick J Neale
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - Rachel E Neale
- Population Health Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Catherine M Olsen
- Population Health Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Frazer Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Rachele Ossola
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Irina Petropavlovskikh
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Ozone and Water Vapor Division, NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Laura E Revell
- School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Sharon A Robinson
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - T Matthew Robson
- UK National School of Forestry, University of Cumbria, Ambleside Campus, Ambleside, UK
- Organismal & Evolutionary Ecology, Viikki Plant Science Centre, Faculty of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kevin C Rose
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Keith R Solomon
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - Mads P Sulbæk Andersen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Barbara Sulzberger
- Retired From Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Timothy J Wallington
- Center for Sustainable Systems, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Qing-Wei Wang
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China
| | - Sten-Åke Wängberg
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | | | - Richard G Zepp
- ORD/CEMM, US Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Liping Zhu
- State Key Lab for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
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7
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Schwab S, Baur M, Nelson TF, Mecking S. Synthesis and Deconstruction of Polyethylene-type Materials. Chem Rev 2024; 124:2327-2351. [PMID: 38408312 PMCID: PMC10941192 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Polyethylene deconstruction to reusable smaller molecules is hindered by the chemical inertness of its hydrocarbon chains. Pyrolysis and related approaches commonly require high temperatures, are energy-intensive, and yield mixtures of multiple classes of compounds. Selective cleavage reactions under mild conditions (
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon
T. Schwab
- Chair of Chemical Materials Science,
Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Maximilian Baur
- Chair of Chemical Materials Science,
Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Taylor F. Nelson
- Chair of Chemical Materials Science,
Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Stefan Mecking
- Chair of Chemical Materials Science,
Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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8
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Albergamo V, Wohlleben W, Plata DL. Tracking Dynamic Chemical Reactivity Networks with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry: A Case of Microplastic-Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:4314-4325. [PMID: 38373233 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Chemical degradation testing often involves monitoring the loss of a chemical or the evolution of a single diagnostic product through time. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to tracing complex degradation networks using mass-spectrometry-based methods and open cheminformatics tools. Ester- and ether-based thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU_Ester and TPU_Ether) microplastics (350 μm) and microplastics-derived dissolved organic carbon (MP-DOC) were photoweathered in a simulated marine environment and subsequently analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. We formula-annotated 1342 and 2344 unique features in the MP-DOC of TPU_Ester and TPU_Ether, respectively. From these, we extracted 199 and 568 plausible parent-transformation product pairs via matching of features (a) with complementary increasing and decreasing trends (Spearman's correlation coefficient between normalized intensity and time), (b) spectral similarities of at least three accurate mass MS2 fragments, and (c) at least 3 ppm agreement between the theoretical and measured change in m/z between the parent-transformation product formula. Molecular network analysis revealed that both chain scission and cross-linking reactions occur dynamically rather than degradation proceeding in a monotonic progression to smaller or more oxygenated structures. Network nodes with the highest degree of centrality were tentatively identified using in silico fragmentation and can be prioritized for toxicity screening or other physicochemical properties of interest. This work has important implications for chemical transformation tracking in complex mixtures and may someday enable improved elucidation of environmental transformation rules (i.e., structure-reactivity relationships) and fate modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Albergamo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Wendel Wohlleben
- Department of Analytical and Material Science, BASF SE, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Desirée L Plata
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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9
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Schutte MM, Kteeba SM, Guo L. Photochemical reactivity of water-soluble dissolved organic matter from microplastics and microfibers. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 911:168616. [PMID: 37992826 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Plastics in aquatic environments are a source of dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, its production pathways and environmental fate remain poorly understood. This study investigated the yields, characterization, and photochemical reactivities of water-soluble DOM from seven pristine microplastics (MPs) and three microfibers (MFs). We found yields of plastic-derived DOM per unit mass of MPs or MFs, including chromophoric DOM (CDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), were significantly influenced by polymer chemical structures. Notably, MFs exhibited consistently higher DOM yields compared to MPs. In addition, plastics containing aromatic rings, such as PETE and PS, were found to generate higher CDOM yields, although PVC also showed elevated CDOM yields. The plastic-derived DOM had a diverse molecular size-range, spanning from 60 nm (polyester-DOM) to 937 nm (LDPE-DOM), while Zeta potentials, which were predominantly negatively charged, varied from -42.5 mV (nylon-DOM) to +4.6 mV (LMW-PVC-DOM). Degradation rate constants for CDOM (0.001-0.022 h-1) were generally higher than DOC (0.0009-0.020 h-1), with a shorter half-life for PETE- and PS-derived DOM. The reactivity and degradation kinetics of plastic-derived DOM were notably manifested in changes of fluorescence spectra (excitation-emission matrixes) during photochemical weathering, showing the influence of polymeric composition/structures. This baseline study provides an improved understanding of the characterization and environmental fate of microfiber- and plastic-derived DOM in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell M Schutte
- School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA; Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, 260 W. Seeboth Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA
| | - Shimaa M Kteeba
- School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA; Faculty of Science, Damietta University, New Damietta 34511, Damietta, Egypt
| | - Laodong Guo
- School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA.
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10
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James BD, Ward CP, Hahn ME, Thorpe SJ, Reddy CM. Minimizing the Environmental Impacts of Plastic Pollution through Ecodesign of Products with Low Environmental Persistence. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2024; 12:1185-1194. [PMID: 38273987 PMCID: PMC10806995 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c05534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
While plastic pollution threatens ecosystems and human health, the use of plastic products continues to increase. Limiting its harm requires design strategies for plastic products informed by the threats that plastics pose to the environment. Thus, we developed a sustainability metric for the ecodesign of plastic products with low environmental persistence and uncompromised performance. To do this, we integrated the environmental degradation rate of plastic into established material selection strategies, deriving material indices for environmental persistence. By comparing indices for the environmental impact of on-the-market plastics and proposed alternatives, we show that accounting for the environmental persistence of plastics in design could translate to societal benefits of hundreds of millions of dollars for a single consumer product. Our analysis identifies the materials and their properties that deserve development, adoption, and investment to create functional and less environmentally impactful plastic products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan D. James
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution; Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Department
of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Collin P. Ward
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution; Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Mark E. Hahn
- Department
of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Steven J. Thorpe
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Toronto; Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4, Canada
| | - Christopher M. Reddy
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution; Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
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11
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Ward CP, Reddy CM, Edwards B, Perri ST. To curb plastic pollution, industry and academia must unite. Nature 2024; 625:658-662. [PMID: 38253760 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-00155-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
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12
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Zhang L, Wang J, Gong X, Song Y, Li D, Huang H, Yu C, Liang X, Fang H. Removal characteristics of microplastics in sewage flowing through a long-term operation surface flow wetland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 899:165714. [PMID: 37487891 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) in sewage pose significant threats to aquatic system. Surface flow wetland (SFW) is a common natural wetland type, and is also used as a cheap and easy-to-build sewage treatment system for small and scattered settlements. However, seasonal variation patterns of MPs in sewage removed by SFW are still limited. Therefore, a field investigation was conducted in an SFW that has been operated for 17 years. The concentration of microplastics in the influent of the SFW (CMPs, in) ranged from 56 ± 6 to 250 ± 14 items L-1. The dominant plastic types were fibers and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). CMPs, in were high in summer and winter, significantly related to the seasonal dressing habits. The removal efficiencies of MPs in SFW were 48.03-92.32 % in different seasons, and the mechanisms of MP removal were different with traditional pollutants. Before flowing out occasionally or by heavy precipitation, MPs were primarily trapped in the SFW and underwent certain oxidation. Simulation experiments demonstrated that 47.5-92.9 % of MPs would be trapped in the SFW, and plants would significantly enhance the trapping capacities. This study sheds light on the seasonal variation characteristics and patterns of MPs in actual sewage, and clarifies the fate of MPs in a long-term operation SFW.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Jingxin Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Detection and Assessment, School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, China
| | - Xia Gong
- College of Chemistry and Material, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Yaohua Song
- School of Electrical Engineering, Jiujiang Vocational and Technical College, Jiujiang 332007, China
| | - Danping Li
- Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Huajun Huang
- Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Chenglong Yu
- Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Ximei Liang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
| | - Hansun Fang
- Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Basin Agricultural Resource and Ecology of Jiangxi Province, College of Land Resource and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
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13
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Songue Same O, Nobosse P, Ngolong Ngea GL, Piveteau C, Lemdani M, Kamga R, Deprez B. Migration study of phthalates from non-food plastic containers used in food preservation. Heliyon 2023; 9:e20002. [PMID: 37809712 PMCID: PMC10559742 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Phthalate acid esters (PAE) are used as additives in the formulation of plastics, to increase their flexibility and transparency. They can migrate from plastic packaging to food, then cause endocrine disruption in consumers. This migration depends on the conditions of use defined for each plastic. Non-food plastics are likely to release more PAE than food-grade plastics. In Cameroon, non-food grade plastics such as old paint buckets are used by people to preserve liquid food. The present work aimed at studying the conditions and mechanism of migration of total PAE from paint buckets to pap. For this purpose, the effects of seven factors were determined through Plackett-Burman experimental design. The interactions of the most influential factors were determined through a full factorial design. The conditions of the migration of total PAE were obtained via face-centered composite design. Then experimental results of migration kinetics were modelled according to equations of pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and intra-particle diffusion. The results revealed that the most influential factors were pH, temperature and contact time. The effects of these factors are non-linear, and their interactions have to be considered. When pap is preserved in paint buckets according to the conditions: temperature of pap >70 °C, pH of pap ≤4 or ≥10 and contact time > 2 h, as is the case in donut shops in Cameroon, the amount of total PAE released is greater than 50 μg/L. Migration of total PAE from paint buckets to pap is best described by the pseudo-second order model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Songue Same
- Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Physicochemical Section of Hygiene and Environment Department, PO Box 1274, Yaounde, Cameroon
- University of Ngaoundere, National School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, Department of Applied Chemistry, P.O. Box 455, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
- University of Lille, INSERM, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1177 - Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Pierre Nobosse
- University of Ngaoundere, National School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, P.O. Box 455, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
| | - Guillaume Legrand Ngolong Ngea
- Université de Douala à Yabassi, Institut des Sciences Halieutiques, Département de Trasformation et Contrôle de Qualité des Produits Halieutiques, P.O. Box 7236, Douala-Bassa, Cameroon
| | - Catherine Piveteau
- University of Lille, INSERM, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1177 - Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Mohamed Lemdani
- University of Lille, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lab. Biomaths Metrics, 59006, Lille, France
| | - Richard Kamga
- University of Ngaoundere, National School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, Department of Applied Chemistry, P.O. Box 455, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
| | - Benoit Deprez
- University of Lille, INSERM, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1177 - Drugs and Molecules for Living Systems, EGID, F-59000, Lille, France
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14
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Lee YK, He W, Guo H, Karanfil T, Hur J. Effects of organic additives on spectroscopic and molecular-level features of photo-induced dissolved organic matter from microplastics. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 242:120272. [PMID: 37393811 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
The environmental occurrence and impact of dissolved organic matter leached from microplastics (MP-DOM) has been the subject of increased research interest. Commercial plastics, which typically contain additives, are subject to natural weathering processes and can eventually lose their additives. However, the effects of organic additives in commercial microplastics (MPs) on the release of MP-DOM under UV irradiation remain poorly understood. In this study, four polymer MPs (polyethylene; PE, polypropylene; PP, polystyrene; PS, polyvinylchloride; PVC) and four commercial MPs, including a PE zip bag, a PP facial mask, a PVC sheet, Styrofoam, were subjected to leaching under UV irradiation, and the MP-DOM was characterized using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and fluorescence excitation emission matrix-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC). Although UV light promoted the leaching of MP-DOM from both MP groups, the amount released was more pronounced for the polymer MPs than for the commercial MPs. The commercial MP-DOM was characterized by a prominent protein/phenol-like component (C1), while a humic-like component (C2) prevailed in the polymer MPs. FT-ICR-MS identified a higher number of unique molecular formulas for the commercial than for the polymer MP-DOM. The unique molecular formulas of commercial MP-DOM included known organic additives and other breakdown products, while the polymer MP-DOM featured more pronounced unsaturated carbon structures in its identified unique formulas. Several molecular-level parameters showed significant correlations with fluorescence properties, such as CHO formulas (%) with C1 and condensed aromatic structure (CAS-like, %) with C2, suggesting the potential application of fluorescent components as an optical descriptor for the complex molecular-level composition. This study also revealed the possible high environmental reactivity of both polymer MPs and fully weathered plastics due to the unsaturated structures generated in sunlit environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Kyung Lee
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, South Korea; Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Anderson 29634, South Carolina, United States
| | - Wei He
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Groundwater Circulation and Environmental Evolution & School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences, (Beijing), Beijing, China
| | - Huaming Guo
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Groundwater Circulation and Environmental Evolution & School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences, (Beijing), Beijing, China
| | - Tanju Karanfil
- Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Anderson 29634, South Carolina, United States
| | - Jin Hur
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, South Korea.
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15
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Qiu Y, Zhang T, Zhang P. Fate and environmental behaviors of microplastics through the lens of free radical. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 453:131401. [PMID: 37086675 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs), as plastics with a size of less than 5 mm, are ubiquitously present in the environment and become an increasing environmental concern. The fate and environmental behavior of MPs are significantly influenced by the presence of free radicals. Free radicals can cause surface breakage, chemical release, change in crystallinity and hydrophilicity, and aggregation of MPs. On the other hand, the generation of free radicals with a high concentration and oxidation potential can effectively degrade MPs. There is a limited review article to bridge the fate and environmental behaviors of MP with free radicals and their reactions. This paper reviews the sources, types, detection methods, generation mechanisms, and influencing factors of free radicals affecting the environmental processes of MPs, the environmental effects of MPs controlled by free radicals, and the degradation strategies of MPs based on free radical-associated technologies. Moreover, this review elaborates on the limitations of the current research and provides ideas for future research on the interactions between MPs and free radicals to better explain their environmental impacts and control their risks. This article aims to keep the reader abreast of the latest development in the fate and environmental behaviors of MP with free radicals and their reactions and to bridge free radical chemistry with MP control methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Qiu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Rd., Tianjin 300350, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao Special Administrative Region of China
| | - Tong Zhang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, Nankai University, 38 Tongyan Rd., Tianjin 300350, China.
| | - Ping Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao Special Administrative Region of China.
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16
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Liu X, Wang S, Mu L, Xie Y, Hu X. Microplastics Reshape the Fate of Aqueous Carbon by Inducing Dynamic Changes in Biodiversity and Chemodiversity. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37392182 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c02976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
The interactions among dissolved organic matter (DOM), microplastics (MPs) and microbes influence the fate of aqueous carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the related processes and mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we found that MPs determined the fate of aqueous carbon by influencing biodiversity and chemodiversity. MPs release chemical additives such as diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and bisphenol A (BPA) into the aqueous phase. The microbial community, especially autotrophic bacteria such as Cyanobacteria, showed a negative correlation with the additives released from MPs. The inhibition of autotrophs promoted CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, MPs stimulated microbial metabolic pathways such as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to accelerate the DOM biodegradation process, and then the transformed DOM presented low bioavailability, high stability, and aromaticity. Our findings highlight an urgent need for chemodiversity and biodiversity surveys to assess ecological risks from MP pollution and the impact of MPs on the carbon cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueju Liu
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Shuting Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Li Mu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment and Product Safety, Key Laboratory for Environmental Factors Controlling Agro-Product Quality Safety (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Institute of Agro-Environmental Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, China
| | - Yingying Xie
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Xiangang Hu
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
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17
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MacLeod M, Domercq P, Harrison S, Praetorius A. Computational models to confront the complex pollution footprint of plastic in the environment. NATURE COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE 2023; 3:486-494. [PMID: 38177416 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-023-00445-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The threat posed by plastic in the environment is poorly characterized due to uncertainties and unknowns about sources, transport, transformation and removal processes, and the properties of the plastic pollution itself. Plastic creates a footprint of particulate pollution with a diversity of composition, size and shape, and a halo of chemicals. In this Perspective, we argue that process-based mass-balance models could provide a platform to synthesize knowledge about plastic pollution as a function of its measurable intrinsic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew MacLeod
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Prado Domercq
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sam Harrison
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster, UK
| | - Antonia Praetorius
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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18
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Battulga B, Atarashi-Andoh M, Matsueda M, Koarashi J. Tracking the behavior and characteristics of microplastics using a multi-analytical approach: a case study in two contrasting coastal areas of Japan. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023:10.1007/s11356-023-28005-x. [PMID: 37249781 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28005-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The global survey for the presence of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments has attracted widespread scientific attention over the past decade. However, evaluating the composition and characteristics of these anthropogenic debris using highly sensitive techniques is still under consideration. This study demonstrates a multidimensional analytical approach, including isotopic and thermogravimetric analyses to evaluate characteristics and behavior of MPs in the environment. The MP samples were collected in two contrasting coastal areas of Japan. The stable carbon isotope (δ13C) ratios of field-collected polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) MPs ranged from -25.6‰ to -31.4‰, -23.4‰ to -30.9‰, and -27.3‰ to -28.6‰, respectively. The detected isotope signatures were similar to those of commercial products. In addition, the differences in δ13C signature were determined between MPs with different colors. Through thermal analysis, the single-step endothermic process was observed for environmental PE and PS-MPs. Patterns in the thermograms revealed dissimilarities in degradability among the PE-MPs with different colors. The results reveal that degradation (aging) may play a significant role in the behavior and characteristics of MP debris in the aquatic environment. The present study provides fundamental data of environmental MPs from the isotopic and thermogravimetric aspects and highlights the usefulness of the approach for advances in MP research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Batdulam Battulga
- Nuclear Science and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan.
| | - Mariko Atarashi-Andoh
- Nuclear Science and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan
| | - Makoto Matsueda
- Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Fukushima, 963-7700, Japan
| | - Jun Koarashi
- Nuclear Science and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan
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19
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James BD, Karchner SI, Walsh AN, Aluru N, Franks DG, Sullivan KR, Reddy CM, Ward CP, Hahn ME. Formulation Controls the Potential Neuromuscular Toxicity of Polyethylene Photoproducts in Developing Zebrafish. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:7966-7977. [PMID: 37186871 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Sunlight transforms plastic into water-soluble products, the potential toxicity of which remains unresolved, particularly for vertebrate animals. We evaluated acute toxicity and gene expression in developing zebrafish larvae after 5 days of exposure to photoproduced (P) and dark (D) leachates from additive-free polyethylene (PE) film and consumer-grade, additive-containing, conventional, and recycled PE bags. Using a "worst-case" scenario, with plastic concentrations exceeding those found in natural waters, we observed no acute toxicity. However, at the molecular level, RNA sequencing revealed differences in the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for each leachate treatment: thousands of genes (5442 P, 577 D) for the additive-free film, tens of genes for the additive-containing conventional bag (14 P, 7 D), and none for the additive-containing recycled bag. Gene ontology enrichment analyses suggested that the additive-free PE leachates disrupted neuromuscular processes via biophysical signaling; this was most pronounced for the photoproduced leachates. We suggest that the fewer DEGs elicited by the leachates from conventional PE bags (and none from recycled bags) could be due to differences in photoproduced leachate composition caused by titanium dioxide-catalyzed reactions not present in the additive-free PE. This work demonstrates that the potential toxicity of plastic photoproducts can be product formulation-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan D James
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Sibel I Karchner
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Anna N Walsh
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Neelakanteswar Aluru
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Diana G Franks
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Kallen R Sullivan
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Christopher M Reddy
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Collin P Ward
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Mark E Hahn
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
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20
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Turner A, Filella M. The role of titanium dioxide on the behaviour and fate of plastics in the aquatic environment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 869:161727. [PMID: 36702284 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Although titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the most widely used pigment in plastics, there is limited quantitative information available for consumer goods and environmental samples. Moreover, and despite its photocatalytic activity, the potential impacts of TiO2 on the behaviour and fate of environmental plastics has received little attention. This paper compiles measurements of Ti in plastic samples from aquatic environments and in consumer goods that are known to make important contributions to environmental pollution. These data, along with a critical evaluation of experimental studies using TiO2-pigmented plastics, are used to formulate an understanding of how the pigment modifies the properties and persistence of environmental plastics. Titanium is heterogeneously distributed amongst different categories and sources of plastic, with concentrations ranging from <1 mg kg-1 in transparent-translucent materials to over 50,000 mg kg-1 in brightly coloured samples. Concentrations towards the higher end are sufficient to change positively buoyant polyolefins into negatively buoyant plastics, suggesting that environmental fractionation based on Ti content might occur. Accelerated leaching of TiO2 from aged plastic has been demonstrated empirically, and while mobilised particles are reported within a size range greater than biotically-active titania nanoparticles, modelling studies suggest that the latter could be derived from TiO2 pigments in the environment. Although rutile appears to be the most important polymorph of TiO2 in non-fibrous plastics, the degree and type of engineered surface modification in consumer and environmental plastics are generally unknown. Surface modification is likely to have a significant impact on the photo-oxidative degradation of plastics and the mobilisation of fine (and, possibly, nano-sized) TiO2 particles and requires further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Turner
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
| | - Montserrat Filella
- Department F.-A. Forel, University of Geneva, Boulevard Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland
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21
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Chen J, Wan N, Li K, Aibin H, He H, Wang D, Zhang W. Molecular characteristics and biological effects of dissolved organic matter leached from microplastics during sludge hydrothermal treatment. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 448:130718. [PMID: 36860029 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous knowledge of dissolved organic matter leached from microplastics (MP-DOM) was mainly based on the aquatic environment. The molecular characteristics and biological effects of MP-DOM in other environments have rarely been examined. In this work, FT-ICR-MS was applied to identify MP-DOM leached from sludge hydrothermal treatment (HTT) at different temperatures, and the plant effects and acute toxicity were investigated. The results showed that the molecular richness and diversity of MP-DOM increased with rising temperature, accompanied by molecular transformation in the meantime. The oxidation was crucial whereas the amide reactions mainly occurred at 180-220 oC. MP-DOM promoted root development of Brassica rapa (field mustard) by affecting the expression of genes and the effect was enhanced with rising temperature. Specifically, the lignin-like compounds in MP-DOM down-regulated Phenylpropanoids biosynthesis, while CHNO compounds up-regulated the nitrogen metabolism. Correlation analysis presented that alcohols/esters leached at 120-160 oC were responsible for the promotion of root, while glucopyranoside leached at 180-220 oC was vital for root development. However, MP-DOM produced at 220 oC showed the acute toxicity to luminous bacteria. Considering the further-treatment of sludge, the optimum HTT temperature could be controlled at 180 oC. This work provides novel insight into the environmental fate and eco-environmental effects of MP-DOM in sewage sludge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Chen
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Na Wan
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Kewei Li
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Hu Aibin
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Hang He
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Dongsheng Wang
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Weijun Zhang
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Yangtze Catchment Environmental Aquatic Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Source Apportionment and Control of Aquatic Pollution, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China.
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22
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Albergamo V, Wohlleben W, Plata DL. Photochemical weathering of polyurethane microplastics produced complex and dynamic mixtures of dissolved organic chemicals. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2023; 25:432-444. [PMID: 36691826 DOI: 10.1039/d2em00415a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Sunlight exposure can naturally mitigate microplastics pollution in the surface ocean, however it results in emissions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) whose characteristics and fate remain largely unknown. In this work, we investigated the effects of solar radiation on polyether (TPU_Ether) and polyester (TPU_Ester) thermoplastic polyurethane, and on a thermoset polyurethane (PU_Hardened). The microplastics were irradiated with simulated solar light with a UV dose of 350 MJ m-2, which corresponds to roughly 15 months outdoor exposure at 31° N latitude. The particles were characterized using ATR-FTIR and elemental analysis. The DOC released to the aqueous phase was quantified by total organic carbon analysis and characterized by nontarget liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. Polyurethane microplastics were degraded following mechanisms reconcilable with UV photo-oxidation. The carbon mass fraction released to the aqueous phase was 8.5 ± 0.5%, 3.7 ± 0.2%, and 2.8 ± 0.2% for TPU_Ether, TPU_Ester, and PU_Hardened, respectively. The corresponding DOC release rates, expressed as mg carbon per UV dose were 0.023, 0.013, and 0.010 mg MJ-1 for TPU_Ether, TPU_Ester and PU_Hardened, respectively. Roughly three thousand unique by-products were released from photo-weathered TPUs, whereas 540 were detected in the DOC of PU_Hardened. This carbon pool was highly complex and dynamic in terms of physicochemical properties and susceptibility to further photodegradation after dissolution from the particles. Our results show that plastics photodegradation in the ocean requires chemical assessment of the DOC emissions in addition to the analysis of aged microplastics and that polymer chemistry influences the chain scission products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Albergamo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
| | - Wendel Wohlleben
- Department of Material Physics and Analytics, Advanced Materials Research, BASF SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
- Department of Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, Advanced Materials Research, BASF SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Desirée L Plata
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
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Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Cropper M, Bald C, Brunner M, Canonizado EM, Charles D, Chiles TC, Donohue MJ, Enck J, Fenichel P, Fleming LE, Ferrier-Pages C, Fordham R, Gozt A, Griffin C, Hahn ME, Haryanto B, Hixson R, Ianelli H, James BD, Kumar P, Laborde A, Law KL, Martin K, Mu J, Mulders Y, Mustapha A, Niu J, Pahl S, Park Y, Pedrotti ML, Pitt JA, Ruchirawat M, Seewoo BJ, Spring M, Stegeman JJ, Suk W, Symeonides C, Takada H, Thompson RC, Vicini A, Wang Z, Whitman E, Wirth D, Wolff M, Yousuf AK, Dunlop S. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. Ann Glob Health 2023; 89:23. [PMID: 36969097 PMCID: PMC10038118 DOI: 10.5334/aogh.4056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Plastics have conveyed great benefits to humanity and made possible some of the most significant advances of modern civilization in fields as diverse as medicine, electronics, aerospace, construction, food packaging, and sports. It is now clear, however, that plastics are also responsible for significant harms to human health, the economy, and the earth's environment. These harms occur at every stage of the plastic life cycle, from extraction of the coal, oil, and gas that are its main feedstocks through to ultimate disposal into the environment. The extent of these harms not been systematically assessed, their magnitude not fully quantified, and their economic costs not comprehensively counted. Goals The goals of this Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health are to comprehensively examine plastics' impacts across their life cycle on: (1) human health and well-being; (2) the global environment, especially the ocean; (3) the economy; and (4) vulnerable populations-the poor, minorities, and the world's children. On the basis of this examination, the Commission offers science-based recommendations designed to support development of a Global Plastics Treaty, protect human health, and save lives. Report Structure This Commission report contains seven Sections. Following an Introduction, Section 2 presents a narrative review of the processes involved in plastic production, use, and disposal and notes the hazards to human health and the environment associated with each of these stages. Section 3 describes plastics' impacts on the ocean and notes the potential for plastic in the ocean to enter the marine food web and result in human exposure. Section 4 details plastics' impacts on human health. Section 5 presents a first-order estimate of plastics' health-related economic costs. Section 6 examines the intersection between plastic, social inequity, and environmental injustice. Section 7 presents the Commission's findings and recommendations. Plastics Plastics are complex, highly heterogeneous, synthetic chemical materials. Over 98% of plastics are produced from fossil carbon- coal, oil and gas. Plastics are comprised of a carbon-based polymer backbone and thousands of additional chemicals that are incorporated into polymers to convey specific properties such as color, flexibility, stability, water repellence, flame retardation, and ultraviolet resistance. Many of these added chemicals are highly toxic. They include carcinogens, neurotoxicants and endocrine disruptors such as phthalates, bisphenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), brominated flame retardants, and organophosphate flame retardants. They are integral components of plastic and are responsible for many of plastics' harms to human health and the environment.Global plastic production has increased almost exponentially since World War II, and in this time more than 8,300 megatons (Mt) of plastic have been manufactured. Annual production volume has grown from under 2 Mt in 1950 to 460 Mt in 2019, a 230-fold increase, and is on track to triple by 2060. More than half of all plastic ever made has been produced since 2002. Single-use plastics account for 35-40% of current plastic production and represent the most rapidly growing segment of plastic manufacture.Explosive recent growth in plastics production reflects a deliberate pivot by the integrated multinational fossil-carbon corporations that produce coal, oil and gas and that also manufacture plastics. These corporations are reducing their production of fossil fuels and increasing plastics manufacture. The two principal factors responsible for this pivot are decreasing global demand for carbon-based fuels due to increases in 'green' energy, and massive expansion of oil and gas production due to fracking.Plastic manufacture is energy-intensive and contributes significantly to climate change. At present, plastic production is responsible for an estimated 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the contribution of Brazil. This fraction is projected to increase to 4.5% by 2060 if current trends continue unchecked. Plastic Life Cycle The plastic life cycle has three phases: production, use, and disposal. In production, carbon feedstocks-coal, gas, and oil-are transformed through energy-intensive, catalytic processes into a vast array of products. Plastic use occurs in every aspect of modern life and results in widespread human exposure to the chemicals contained in plastic. Single-use plastics constitute the largest portion of current use, followed by synthetic fibers and construction.Plastic disposal is highly inefficient, with recovery and recycling rates below 10% globally. The result is that an estimated 22 Mt of plastic waste enters the environment each year, much of it single-use plastic and are added to the more than 6 gigatons of plastic waste that have accumulated since 1950. Strategies for disposal of plastic waste include controlled and uncontrolled landfilling, open burning, thermal conversion, and export. Vast quantities of plastic waste are exported each year from high-income to low-income countries, where it accumulates in landfills, pollutes air and water, degrades vital ecosystems, befouls beaches and estuaries, and harms human health-environmental injustice on a global scale. Plastic-laden e-waste is particularly problematic. Environmental Findings Plastics and plastic-associated chemicals are responsible for widespread pollution. They contaminate aquatic (marine and freshwater), terrestrial, and atmospheric environments globally. The ocean is the ultimate destination for much plastic, and plastics are found throughout the ocean, including coastal regions, the sea surface, the deep sea, and polar sea ice. Many plastics appear to resist breakdown in the ocean and could persist in the global environment for decades. Macro- and micro-plastic particles have been identified in hundreds of marine species in all major taxa, including species consumed by humans. Trophic transfer of microplastic particles and the chemicals within them has been demonstrated. Although microplastic particles themselves (>10 µm) appear not to undergo biomagnification, hydrophobic plastic-associated chemicals bioaccumulate in marine animals and biomagnify in marine food webs. The amounts and fates of smaller microplastic and nanoplastic particles (MNPs <10 µm) in aquatic environments are poorly understood, but the potential for harm is worrying given their mobility in biological systems. Adverse environmental impacts of plastic pollution occur at multiple levels from molecular and biochemical to population and ecosystem. MNP contamination of seafood results in direct, though not well quantified, human exposure to plastics and plastic-associated chemicals. Marine plastic pollution endangers the ocean ecosystems upon which all humanity depends for food, oxygen, livelihood, and well-being. Human Health Findings Coal miners, oil workers and gas field workers who extract fossil carbon feedstocks for plastic production suffer increased mortality from traumatic injury, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Plastic production workers are at increased risk of leukemia, lymphoma, hepatic angiosarcoma, brain cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, neurotoxic injury, and decreased fertility. Workers producing plastic textiles die of bladder cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and interstitial lung disease at increased rates. Plastic recycling workers have increased rates of cardiovascular disease, toxic metal poisoning, neuropathy, and lung cancer. Residents of "fenceline" communities adjacent to plastic production and waste disposal sites experience increased risks of premature birth, low birth weight, asthma, childhood leukemia, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.During use and also in disposal, plastics release toxic chemicals including additives and residual monomers into the environment and into people. National biomonitoring surveys in the USA document population-wide exposures to these chemicals. Plastic additives disrupt endocrine function and increase risk for premature births, neurodevelopmental disorders, male reproductive birth defects, infertility, obesity, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and cancers. Chemical-laden MNPs formed through the environmental degradation of plastic waste can enter living organisms, including humans. Emerging, albeit still incomplete evidence indicates that MNPs may cause toxicity due to their physical and toxicological effects as well as by acting as vectors that transport toxic chemicals and bacterial pathogens into tissues and cells.Infants in the womb and young children are two populations at particularly high risk of plastic-related health effects. Because of the exquisite sensitivity of early development to hazardous chemicals and children's unique patterns of exposure, plastic-associated exposures are linked to increased risks of prematurity, stillbirth, low birth weight, birth defects of the reproductive organs, neurodevelopmental impairment, impaired lung growth, and childhood cancer. Early-life exposures to plastic-associated chemicals also increase the risk of multiple non-communicable diseases later in life. Economic Findings Plastic's harms to human health result in significant economic costs. We estimate that in 2015 the health-related costs of plastic production exceeded $250 billion (2015 Int$) globally, and that in the USA alone the health costs of disease and disability caused by the plastic-associated chemicals PBDE, BPA and DEHP exceeded $920 billion (2015 Int$). Plastic production results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to 1.96 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2e) annually. Using the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) social cost of carbon metric, we estimate the annual costs of these GHG emissions to be $341 billion (2015 Int$).These costs, large as they are, almost certainly underestimate the full economic losses resulting from plastics' negative impacts on human health and the global environment. All of plastics' economic costs-and also its social costs-are externalized by the petrochemical and plastic manufacturing industry and are borne by citizens, taxpayers, and governments in countries around the world without compensation. Social Justice Findings The adverse effects of plastics and plastic pollution on human health, the economy and the environment are not evenly distributed. They disproportionately affect poor, disempowered, and marginalized populations such as workers, racial and ethnic minorities, "fenceline" communities, Indigenous groups, women, and children, all of whom had little to do with creating the current plastics crisis and lack the political influence or the resources to address it. Plastics' harmful impacts across its life cycle are most keenly felt in the Global South, in small island states, and in disenfranchised areas in the Global North. Social and environmental justice (SEJ) principles require reversal of these inequitable burdens to ensure that no group bears a disproportionate share of plastics' negative impacts and that those who benefit economically from plastic bear their fair share of its currently externalized costs. Conclusions It is now clear that current patterns of plastic production, use, and disposal are not sustainable and are responsible for significant harms to human health, the environment, and the economy as well as for deep societal injustices.The main driver of these worsening harms is an almost exponential and still accelerating increase in global plastic production. Plastics' harms are further magnified by low rates of recovery and recycling and by the long persistence of plastic waste in the environment.The thousands of chemicals in plastics-monomers, additives, processing agents, and non-intentionally added substances-include amongst their number known human carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxicants, and persistent organic pollutants. These chemicals are responsible for many of plastics' known harms to human and planetary health. The chemicals leach out of plastics, enter the environment, cause pollution, and result in human exposure and disease. All efforts to reduce plastics' hazards must address the hazards of plastic-associated chemicals. Recommendations To protect human and planetary health, especially the health of vulnerable and at-risk populations, and put the world on track to end plastic pollution by 2040, this Commission supports urgent adoption by the world's nations of a strong and comprehensive Global Plastics Treaty in accord with the mandate set forth in the March 2022 resolution of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).International measures such as a Global Plastics Treaty are needed to curb plastic production and pollution, because the harms to human health and the environment caused by plastics, plastic-associated chemicals and plastic waste transcend national boundaries, are planetary in their scale, and have disproportionate impacts on the health and well-being of people in the world's poorest nations. Effective implementation of the Global Plastics Treaty will require that international action be coordinated and complemented by interventions at the national, regional, and local levels.This Commission urges that a cap on global plastic production with targets, timetables, and national contributions be a central provision of the Global Plastics Treaty. We recommend inclusion of the following additional provisions:The Treaty needs to extend beyond microplastics and marine litter to include all of the many thousands of chemicals incorporated into plastics.The Treaty needs to include a provision banning or severely restricting manufacture and use of unnecessary, avoidable, and problematic plastic items, especially single-use items such as manufactured plastic microbeads.The Treaty needs to include requirements on extended producer responsibility (EPR) that make fossil carbon producers, plastic producers, and the manufacturers of plastic products legally and financially responsible for the safety and end-of-life management of all the materials they produce and sell.The Treaty needs to mandate reductions in the chemical complexity of plastic products; health-protective standards for plastics and plastic additives; a requirement for use of sustainable non-toxic materials; full disclosure of all components; and traceability of components. International cooperation will be essential to implementing and enforcing these standards.The Treaty needs to include SEJ remedies at each stage of the plastic life cycle designed to fill gaps in community knowledge and advance both distributional and procedural equity.This Commission encourages inclusion in the Global Plastic Treaty of a provision calling for exploration of listing at least some plastic polymers as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention.This Commission encourages a strong interface between the Global Plastics Treaty and the Basel and London Conventions to enhance management of hazardous plastic waste and slow current massive exports of plastic waste into the world's least-developed countries.This Commission recommends the creation of a Permanent Science Policy Advisory Body to guide the Treaty's implementation. The main priorities of this Body would be to guide Member States and other stakeholders in evaluating which solutions are most effective in reducing plastic consumption, enhancing plastic waste recovery and recycling, and curbing the generation of plastic waste. This Body could also assess trade-offs among these solutions and evaluate safer alternatives to current plastics. It could monitor the transnational export of plastic waste. It could coordinate robust oceanic-, land-, and air-based MNP monitoring programs.This Commission recommends urgent investment by national governments in research into solutions to the global plastic crisis. This research will need to determine which solutions are most effective and cost-effective in the context of particular countries and assess the risks and benefits of proposed solutions. Oceanographic and environmental research is needed to better measure concentrations and impacts of plastics <10 µm and understand their distribution and fate in the global environment. Biomedical research is needed to elucidate the human health impacts of plastics, especially MNPs. Summary This Commission finds that plastics are both a boon to humanity and a stealth threat to human and planetary health. Plastics convey enormous benefits, but current linear patterns of plastic production, use, and disposal that pay little attention to sustainable design or safe materials and a near absence of recovery, reuse, and recycling are responsible for grave harms to health, widespread environmental damage, great economic costs, and deep societal injustices. These harms are rapidly worsening.While there remain gaps in knowledge about plastics' harms and uncertainties about their full magnitude, the evidence available today demonstrates unequivocally that these impacts are great and that they will increase in severity in the absence of urgent and effective intervention at global scale. Manufacture and use of essential plastics may continue. However, reckless increases in plastic production, and especially increases in the manufacture of an ever-increasing array of unnecessary single-use plastic products, need to be curbed.Global intervention against the plastic crisis is needed now because the costs of failure to act will be immense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J. Landrigan
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Medical Biology Department, MC
| | - Hervé Raps
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Medical Biology Department, MC
| | - Maureen Cropper
- Economics Department, University of Maryland, College Park, US
| | - Caroline Bald
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Patrick Fenichel
- Université Côte d’Azur
- Centre Hospitalier, Universitaire de Nice, FR
| | - Lora E. Fleming
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, UK
| | | | | | | | - Carly Griffin
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | - Mark E. Hahn
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US
- Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, US
| | - Budi Haryanto
- Department of Environmental Health, Universitas Indonesia, ID
- Research Center for Climate Change, Universitas Indonesia, ID
| | - Richard Hixson
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Hannah Ianelli
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | - Bryan D. James
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US
| | | | - Amalia Laborde
- Department of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of the Republic, UY
| | | | - Keith Martin
- Consortium of Universities for Global Health, US
| | - Jenna Mu
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | | | - Adetoun Mustapha
- Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria
- Lead City University, NG
| | - Jia Niu
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, US
| | - Sabine Pahl
- University of Vienna, Austria
- University of Plymouth, UK
| | | | - Maria-Luiza Pedrotti
- Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche sur mer (LOV), Sorbonne Université, FR
| | | | | | - Bhedita Jaya Seewoo
- Minderoo Foundation, AU
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, AU
| | | | - John J. Stegeman
- Biology Department and Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US
| | - William Suk
- Superfund Research Program, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, US
| | | | - Hideshige Takada
- Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry (LOG), Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, JP
| | | | | | - Zhanyun Wang
- Technology and Society Laboratory, WEmpa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials and Technology, CH
| | - Ella Whitman
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | | | | | - Aroub K. Yousuf
- Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, US
| | - Sarah Dunlop
- Minderoo Foundation, AU
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, AU
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Ghanadi M, Kah M, Kookana RS, Padhye LP. Formation of disinfection by-products from microplastics, tire wear particles, and other polymer-based materials. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 230:119528. [PMID: 36587522 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are formed through the disinfection of water containing precursors such as natural organic matter or anthropogenic compounds (e.g., pharmaceuticals and pesticides). Due to the ever increasing use of plastics, elastomers, and other polymers in our daily lives, polymer-based materials (PBMs) are detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in water and wastewater. The present review provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the contribution of PBMs - including elastomers, tire waste, polyelectrolytes, and microplastics - as precursors of DBPs in water and wastewater. Literature shows that the presence of PBMs can lead to the leaching of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and subsequent formation of DBPs upon disinfection in aqueous media. The quantity and type of DBPs formed strongly depends on the type of polymer, its concentration, its age, water salinity, and disinfection conditions such as oxidant dosage, pH, temperature, and contact time. DOM leaching from elastomers and tire waste was shown to form N-nitrosodimethylamine up to concerning levels of 930 ng/L and 466,715 ng/L, respectively upon chemical disinfection under laboratory conditions. Polyelectrolytes can also react with chemical disinfectants to form toxic DBPs. Recent findings indicate trihalomethanes formation potential of plastics can be as high as 15,990 µg/L based on the maximum formation potential under extreme conditions. Our analysis highlights an overlooked contribution of DOM leaching from PBMs as DBP precursors during disinfection of water and wastewater. Further studies need to be conducted to ascertain the extent of this contribution in real water and wastewater treatment plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahyar Ghanadi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Melanie Kah
- School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Rai S Kookana
- CSIRO Land and Water, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064, Australia
| | - Lokesh P Padhye
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
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Delre A, Goudriaan M, Morales VH, Vaksmaa A, Ndhlovu RT, Baas M, Keijzer E, de Groot T, Zeghal E, Egger M, Röckmann T, Niemann H. Plastic photodegradation under simulated marine conditions. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 187:114544. [PMID: 36640499 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Ocean plastic pollution is a problem of increasing magnitude; yet, the amount of plastic at the sea surface is much lower than expected. Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation can induce photodegradation, but its importance in determining the longevity of floating plastic remains unconstrained. Here, we measured photodegradation rates of different plastic types slightly larger than microplastics (virgin polymers and floating plastic debris) under simulated marine conditions. UV irradiation caused all plastic types to leach dissolved organic carbon, and to a lesser degree carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and other hydrocarbon gases. The release of photodegradation products translates to degradation rates of 1.7-2.3 % yr-1 of the tested plastic particles normalized to conditions as found in the subtropical surface ocean. Modelling the accumulation of floating plastic debris, our results show that solar UV radiation could already have degraded 7 to 22 % of all floating plastic that has ever been released to the sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Delre
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Maaike Goudriaan
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Victor Hernando Morales
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands; University of Vigo, Biological Oceanography Group, Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain
| | - Annika Vaksmaa
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Rachel Tintswalo Ndhlovu
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Marianne Baas
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Edwin Keijzer
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Tim de Groot
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Emna Zeghal
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands
| | - Matthias Egger
- The Ocean Cleanup, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Egger Research and Consulting, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Röckmann
- Utrecht University, Faculty of Science, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Helge Niemann
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry, 't Horntje (Texel), the Netherlands; Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands; University of Tromsø, CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate, Tromsø, Norway.
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Mundhenke TF, Li SC, Maurer-Jones MA. Photodegradation of polyolefin thin films in simulated freshwater conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2022; 24:2284-2293. [PMID: 36398693 DOI: 10.1039/d2em00359g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) are commonly used polyolefins in a variety of applications, which have resulted in their accumulation in the environment. Once in the environment, these polymers undergo various chemical and physical transformations as the result of environmental stressors such as sunlight. While photodegradation has been studied for decades, there are key gaps in knowledge on the phototransformations of polyolefins that occur under aqueous conditions. Therefore, the goal of this study is to characterize the phototransformations of PP and PE in simulated freshwater conditions. Polymer thin films were irradiated with 254 nm and 350 nm UV light in air, ultra-pure water, and solutions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to simulate natural systems. Irradiated plastics were evaluated for oxidation and chain scission. It was observed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) that oxidation in aqueous environments happened at a slower rate compared to oxidations in air. However, photo-oxidation was accelerated in the presence of DOM compared to ultrapure water, with singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical causing varied amounts of degradation depending on the polymer. The vinyl characteristic, a chain scission product, revealed an increased yield but the reaction rate showed that these photoproducts were more likely to occur when oxidation is less favorable. Compared to naturally weathered samples, lab observed transformations were on par with naturally degraded samples and support the importance of the in-lab measurements. This work quantifies the extent and rate of photodegradation pathways in PP and PE to demonstrate the importance of photodegradation in aquatic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F Mundhenke
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1038 University Dr., Duluth, Minnesota 55812, USA.
| | - Sonia C Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1038 University Dr., Duluth, Minnesota 55812, USA.
| | - Melissa A Maurer-Jones
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1038 University Dr., Duluth, Minnesota 55812, USA.
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Sanluis-Verdes A, Colomer-Vidal P, Rodriguez-Ventura F, Bello-Villarino M, Spinola-Amilibia M, Ruiz-Lopez E, Illanes-Vicioso R, Castroviejo P, Aiese Cigliano R, Montoya M, Falabella P, Pesquera C, Gonzalez-Legarreta L, Arias-Palomo E, Solà M, Torroba T, Arias CF, Bertocchini F. Wax worm saliva and the enzymes therein are the key to polyethylene degradation by Galleria mellonella. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5568. [PMID: 36195604 PMCID: PMC9532405 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33127-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Plastic degradation by biological systems with re-utilization of the by-products could be a future solution to the global threat of plastic waste accumulation. Here, we report that the saliva of Galleria mellonella larvae (wax worms) is capable of oxidizing and depolymerizing polyethylene (PE), one of the most produced and sturdy polyolefin-derived plastics. This effect is achieved after a few hours’ exposure at room temperature under physiological conditions (neutral pH). The wax worm saliva can overcome the bottleneck step in PE biodegradation, namely the initial oxidation step. Within the saliva, we identify two enzymes, belonging to the phenol oxidase family, that can reproduce the same effect. To the best of our knowledge, these enzymes are the first animal enzymes with this capability, opening the way to potential solutions for plastic waste management through bio-recycling/up-cycling. The crucial first step in the biodegradation of polyethylene plastic is oxidation of the polymer. This has traditionally required abiotic pre-treatment, but now Bertocchini and colleagues report two wax worm enzymes capable of catalyzing this oxidation and subsequent degradation at room temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sanluis-Verdes
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain
| | - P Colomer-Vidal
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Rodriguez-Ventura
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Bello-Villarino
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - E Ruiz-Lopez
- Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB)-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - R Illanes-Vicioso
- Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB)-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - P Castroviejo
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and PCT, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | | | - M Montoya
- CIB-CSIC, Department of Molecular Biomedicine, Madrid, Spain
| | - P Falabella
- Department of Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - C Pesquera
- Department of Chemistry and Process & Resource Engineering, Inorganic Chemistry Group-University of Cantabria, Nanomedicine-IDIVAL, Santander, Spain
| | - L Gonzalez-Legarreta
- Department of Chemistry and Process & Resource Engineering, Inorganic Chemistry Group-University of Cantabria, Nanomedicine-IDIVAL, Santander, Spain
| | - E Arias-Palomo
- CIB-CSIC, Department of Structural and Chemical Biology, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Solà
- Department of Structural Biology, Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB)-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - T Torroba
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and PCT, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - C F Arias
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain.
| | - F Bertocchini
- Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas-Margarita Salas (CIB)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Madrid, Spain.
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Walsh AN, Mazzotta MG, Nelson TF, Reddy CM, Ward CP. Synergy between Sunlight, Titanium Dioxide, and Microbes Enhances Cellulose Diacetate Degradation in the Ocean. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:13810-13819. [PMID: 36103552 PMCID: PMC9535896 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Sunlight chemically transforms marine plastics into a suite of products, with formulation─the specific mixture of polymers and additives─driving rates and products. However, the effect of light-driven transformations on subsequent microbial lability is poorly understood. Here, we examined the interplay between photochemical and biological degradation of fabrics made from cellulose diacetate (CDA), a biobased polymer used commonly in consumer products. We also examined the influence of ∼1% titanium dioxide (TiO2), a common pigment and photocatalyst. We sequentially exposed CDA to simulated sunlight and native marine microbes to understand how photodegradation influences metabolic rates and pathways. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that sunlight initiated chain scission reactions, reducing CDA's average molecular weight. Natural abundance carbon isotope measurements demonstrated that chain scission ultimately yields CO2, a newly identified abiotic loss term of CDA in the environment. Measurements of fabric mass loss and enzymatic activities in seawater implied that photodegradation enhanced biodegradation by performing steps typically facilitated by cellulase. TiO2 accelerated CDA photodegradation, expediting biodegradation. Collectively, these findings (i) underline the importance of formulation in plastic's environmental fate and (ii) suggest that overlooking synergy between photochemical and biological degradation may lead to overestimates of marine plastic persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna N. Walsh
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Michael G. Mazzotta
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Eastman
Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee 37660, United States
| | - Taylor F. Nelson
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Christopher M. Reddy
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Collin P. Ward
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
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29
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James BD, de Vos A, Aluwihare LI, Youngs S, Ward CP, Nelson RK, Michel APM, Hahn ME, Reddy CM. Divergent Forms of Pyroplastic: Lessons Learned from the M/V X-Press Pearl Ship Fire. ACS ENVIRONMENTAL AU 2022; 2:467-479. [PMID: 37101454 PMCID: PMC10125272 DOI: 10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
In late May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire while anchored 18 km off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka and spilled upward of 70 billion pieces of plastic or "nurdles" (∼1680 tons), littering the country's coastline. Exposure to combustion, heat, chemicals, and petroleum products led to an apparent continuum of changes from no obvious effects to pieces consistent with previous reports of melted and burned plastic (pyroplastic) found on beaches. At the middle of this continuum, nurdles were discolored but appeared to retain their prefire morphology, resembling nurdles that had been weathered in the environment. We performed a detailed investigation of the physical and surface properties of discolored nurdles collected on a beach 5 days after the ship caught fire and within 24 h of their arrival onshore. The color was the most striking trait of the plastic: white for nurdles with minimal alteration from the accident, orange for nurdles containing antioxidant degradation products formed by exposure to heat, and gray for partially combusted nurdles. Our color analyses indicate that this fraction of the plastic released from the ship was not a continuum but instead diverged into distinct groups. Fire left the gray nurdles scorched, with entrained particles and pools of melted plastic, and covered in soot, representing partial pyroplastics, a new subtype of pyroplastic. Cross sections showed that the heat- and fire-induced changes were superficial, leaving the surfaces more hydrophilic but the interior relatively untouched. These results provide timely and actionable information to responders to reevaluate cleanup end points, monitor the recurrence of these spilled nurdles, gauge short- and long-term effects of the spilled nurdles to the local ecosystem, and manage the recovery of the spill. These findings underscore partially combusted plastic (pyroplastic) as a type of plastic pollution that has yet to be fully explored despite the frequency at which plastic is burned globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan D. James
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Department
of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Asha de Vos
- Oceanswell, 9 Park Gardens, Colombo 5 00500, Sri Lanka
- The
Oceans Institute, University of Western
Australia, 35 Stirling
Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Lihini I. Aluwihare
- Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, University
of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Sarah Youngs
- Department
of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Collin P. Ward
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Robert K. Nelson
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Anna P. M. Michel
- Department
of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Mark E. Hahn
- Department
of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Christopher M. Reddy
- Department
of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
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30
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Pfohl P, Wagner M, Meyer L, Domercq P, Praetorius A, Hüffer T, Hofmann T, Wohlleben W. Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:11323-11334. [PMID: 35902073 PMCID: PMC9387529 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the environmental fate of microplastics is essential for their risk assessment. It is essential to differentiate size classes and degradation states. Still, insights into fragmentation and degradation mechanisms of primary and secondary microplastics into micro- and nanoplastic fragments and other degradation products are limited. Here, we present an adapted NanoRelease protocol for a UV-dose-dependent assessment and size-selective quantification of the release of micro- and nanoplastic fragments down to 10 nm and demonstrate its applicability for polyamide and thermoplastic polyurethanes. The tested cryo-milled polymers do not originate from actual consumer products but are handled in industry and are therefore representative of polydisperse microplastics occurring in the environment. The protocol is suitable for various types of microplastic polymers, and the measured rates can serve to parameterize mechanistic fragmentation models. We also found that primary microplastics matched the same ranking of weathering stability as their corresponding macroplastics and that dissolved organics constitute a major rate of microplastic mass loss. The results imply that previously formed micro- and nanoplastic fragments can further degrade into water-soluble organics with measurable rates that enable modeling approaches for all environmental compartments accessible to UV light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Pfohl
- BASF
SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, Ludwigshafen 67056, Germany
- Department
of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental
Systems Science, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
- Doctoral
School in Microbiology and Environmental Science, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - Marion Wagner
- BASF
SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, Ludwigshafen 67056, Germany
| | - Lars Meyer
- BASF
SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, Ludwigshafen 67056, Germany
| | - Prado Domercq
- Department
of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Antonia Praetorius
- Institute
for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1090 GE, Netherlands
| | - Thorsten Hüffer
- Department
of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental
Systems Science, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
- Research
Platform Plastics in the Environment and Society (PLENTY), University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Thilo Hofmann
- Department
of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental
Systems Science, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
- Research
Platform Plastics in the Environment and Society (PLENTY), University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Wendel Wohlleben
- BASF
SE, Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, Ludwigshafen 67056, Germany
- . Tel.: +49 621 6095339
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31
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Zadjelovic V, Erni-Cassola G, Obrador-Viel T, Lester D, Eley Y, Gibson MI, Dorador C, Golyshin PN, Black S, Wellington EMH, Christie-Oleza JA. A mechanistic understanding of polyethylene biodegradation by the marine bacterium Alcanivorax. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 436:129278. [PMID: 35739790 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Polyethylene (PE) is one of the most recalcitrant carbon-based synthetic materials produced and, currently, the most ubiquitous plastic pollutant found in nature. Over time, combined abiotic and biotic processes are thought to eventually breakdown PE. Despite limited evidence of biological PE degradation and speculation that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria found within the plastisphere is an indication of biodegradation, there is no clear mechanistic understanding of the process. Here, using high-throughput proteomics, we investigated the molecular processes that take place in the hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterium Alcanivorax sp. 24 when grown in the presence of low density PE (LDPE). As well as efficiently utilising and assimilating the leachate of weathered LDPE, the bacterium was able to reduce the molecular weight distribution (Mw from 122 to 83 kg/mol) and overall mass of pristine LDPE films (0.9 % after 34 days of incubation). Most interestingly, Alcanivorax acquired the isotopic signature of the pristine plastic and induced an extensive array of metabolic pathways for aliphatic compound degradation. Presumably, the primary biodegradation of LDPE by Alcanivorax sp. 24 is possible via the production of extracellular reactive oxygen species as observed both by the material's surface oxidation and the measurement of superoxide in the culture with LDPE. Our findings confirm that hydrocarbon-biodegrading bacteria within the plastisphere may in fact have a role in degrading PE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinko Zadjelovic
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
| | - Gabriel Erni-Cassola
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; Program Man-Society-Environment (MGU), University of Basel, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Theo Obrador-Viel
- Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07122, Spain
| | - Daniel Lester
- Polymer Characterisation Research Technology Platform, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Yvette Eley
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B15 2TT, UK
| | - Matthew I Gibson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Cristina Dorador
- Laboratorio de Complejidad Microbiana y Ecología Funcional, Instituto Antofagasta, Universidad de Antofagasta, Chile; Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta Angamos 601, Antofagasta, Chile; Centre for Biotechnology & Bioengineering (CeBiB) Santiago, Chile
| | - Peter N Golyshin
- Centre for Environmental Biotechnology, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Stuart Black
- Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, UK
| | | | - Joseph A Christie-Oleza
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07122, Spain.
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32
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Mehmood T, Peng L. Polyethylene scaffold net and synthetic grass fragmentation: a source of microplastics in the atmosphere? JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 429:128391. [PMID: 35236024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) implications in the atmosphere are of current global concern. Currently, there is a growing interest regarding source appointment, fate, level of toxicity, and exposure intensity of ambient air MPs. Recent data suggest that polyethylene (PE) dominates ambient MPs in China's megacities. Albeit understanding of PE sources is limited and restricted to typical sources polluting terrestrial and marine environments. However, the air is a distinct environmental component and may have some separate pollution sources as well as the relative contribution of different sources could also contrast in different environments. Urbanization and fast construction activity resulting from increased economic growth in these places might be a potential source of ambient PE. Recently, the use of scaffold netting on construction sites and synthetic grass as land covering sheets has been on the rise. Generally, these PE items are often inferior and composed of recycled material, making them more prone to degradation. Also, because these items were continually exposed to open air, there is a considerable risk of fragmentation and atmospheric mixing. Therefore, unchecked and excessive usage of these materials can be risky. Here, PE's physical and chemical characteristics, transport and health risks in urban air are discussed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariq Mehmood
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, PR China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, PR China 570228
| | - Licheng Peng
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, PR China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, PR China 570228.
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33
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de Vos A, Aluwihare L, Youngs S, DiBenedetto MH, Ward CP, Michel APM, Colson BC, Mazzotta MG, Walsh AN, Nelson RK, Reddy CM, James BD. The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka’s Beaches. ACS ENVIRONMENTAL AU 2022; 2:128-135. [PMID: 37101587 PMCID: PMC10114858 DOI: 10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl cargo ship caught fire 18 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka and spilled ∼1680 tons of spherical pieces of plastic or "nurdles" (∼5 mm; white in color). Nurdles are the preproduction plastic used to manufacture a wide range of end products. Exposure to combustion, heat, and chemicals led to agglomeration, fragmentation, charring, and chemical modification of the plastic, creating an unprecedented complex spill of visibly burnt plastic and unburnt nurdles. These pieces span a continuum of colors, shapes, sizes, and densities with high variability that could impact cleanup efforts, alter transport in the ocean, and potentially affect wildlife. Visibly burnt plastic was 3-fold more chemically complex than visibly unburnt nurdles. This added chemical complexity included combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A portion of the burnt material contained petroleum-derived biomarkers, indicating that it encountered some fossil-fuel products during the spill. The findings of this research highlight the added complexity caused by the fire and subsequent burning of plastic for cleanup operations, monitoring, and damage assessment and provides recommendations to further understand and combat the impacts of this and future spills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asha de Vos
- Oceanswell, 9 Park Gardens, Colombo 5 00500, Sri Lanka
- The Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Lihini Aluwihare
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Sarah Youngs
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Michelle H. DiBenedetto
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Collin P. Ward
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Anna P. M. Michel
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Beckett C. Colson
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- MIT−WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Michael G. Mazzotta
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Anna N. Walsh
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
- MIT−WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Robert K. Nelson
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Christopher M. Reddy
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
| | - Bryan D. James
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States
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34
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Martínez-Campos S, Pissaridou P, Drakou K, Shammas C, Andreou K, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganes F, Rosal R, Koutinas M, Kapnisis K, Vasquez MI. Evolution of prokaryotic colonisation of greenhouse plastics discarded into the environment. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2022; 232:113213. [PMID: 35085885 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Current knowledge on the capacity of plastics as vectors of microorganisms and their ability to transfer microorganisms between different habitats (i.e. air, soil and river) is limited. The objective of this study was to characterise the evolution of the bacterial community adhered to environmental plastics [low-density polyethylene (LDPE)] across different environments from their point of use to their receiving environment destination in the sea. The study took place in a typical Mediterranean intermittent river basin in Larnaka, Cyprus, characterised by a large greenhouse area whose plastic debris may end up in the sea due to mismanagement. Five locations were selected to represent the environmental fate of greenhouse plastics from their use, through their abandonment in soil and subsequent transport to the river and the sea, taking samples of plastics and the surrounding environments (soil and water). The bacterial community associated with each sample was studied by 16S rRNA metabarcoding; also, the main physicochemical parameters in each environmental compartment were analysed to understand these changes. The identification and chemical changes in greenhouse plastics were tracked using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis demonstrated an evolution of the biofilm at each sampling location. β-diversity studies showed that the bacterial community adhered to plastics was significantly different from that of the surrounding environment only in samples taken from aqueous environments (freshwater and sea) (p-value p-value > 0.05). The environmental parameters (pH, salinity, total nitrogen and total phosphorus) explained the differences observed at each location to a limited extent. Furthermore, bacterial community differences among samples were lower in plastics collected from the soil than in plastics taken from rivers and seawater. Six genera (Flavobacterium, Altererythrobacter, Acinetobacter, Pleurocapsa, Georgfuchsia and Rhodococcus) were detected in the plastic, irrespective of the sampling location, confirming that greenhouse plastics can act as possible vectors of microorganisms between different environments: from their point of use, through a river system to the final coastal receiving environment. In conclusion, this study confirms the ability of greenhouse plastics to transport bacteria, including pathogens, between different environments. Future studies should evaluate these risks by performing complete sequencing metagenomics to decipher the functions of the plastisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Martínez-Campos
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Panayiota Pissaridou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Katerina Drakou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Christos Shammas
- Avva Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Spyrou Kyprianou Ave 23, 4001 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Kostas Andreou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganes
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Michalis Koutinas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Konstantinos Kapnisis
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Marlen I Vasquez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archbishop Kyprianos str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus.
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35
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Zvekic M, Richards LC, Tong CC, Krogh ET. Characterizing photochemical ageing processes of microplastic materials using multivariate analysis of infrared spectra. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2022; 24:52-61. [PMID: 34904601 DOI: 10.1039/d1em00392e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics in the environment are an emerging concern due to impacts on human and environmental health. In addition to direct effects on biota, microplastics influence the fate and distribution of trace organic contaminants through sorption and transport. Environmental weathering may influence the rate and extent of chemical sorption. Changes in the surface characteristics of four common plastics including low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) were followed under the influence of both artificial light (UV-B) and natural sunlight for up to six months. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra were collected at regular intervals. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the full dataset of UV-B weathered samples (n >500 spectra) simultaneously discriminated plastic type and extent of photochemical weathering. The magnitude of PCA scores correlated with exposure time and the loadings were consistent with surface chemistry changes including photooxidation. Projecting sunlight and UV-C exposed samples onto this PCA model demonstrated that similar chemical changes occurred, albeit at different rates. The results were compared to the carbonyl index (CI) with similar weathering trends indicating PP weathered at a faster initial rate than LDPE and HDPE. We propose that a multivariate approach is more widely applicable than CI as illustrated by PS, which lacked a stable reference peak. Kinetic analysis of the time series indicated that outdoor weathering occurred 5-12 times slower than the artificial exposure used here, depending on the plastic and the light source employed. The results provide unique insights into weathering processes and the photochemical age of naturally weathered plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misha Zvekic
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Stn CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Larissa C Richards
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Stn CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Christine C Tong
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
| | - Erik T Krogh
- Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Department of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Stn CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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