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Allison NL, Dale AC, Narayanaswamy BE, Turrell WR. Investigating local trawl fishing as a source of plastic beach litter. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 205:116627. [PMID: 38968745 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116627] [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: 05/01/2024] [Revised: 06/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
This paper uses a particle tracking model to simulate the distribution of fishing-related marine-sourced plastic litter from demersal trawling activities along the Atlantic coast of Scotland. The modelled fishing litter dispersed widely across the region, with ∼50% of the particles beaching along the northwestern Scottish coast after a year-long simulation. The model was tuned using observations of beached litter loadings along the same coastline to estimate the annual input, by mass, of small (<1 kg) plastic litter. Model results suggest that between 107 g and 280 g of small fishing-related litter enters the ocean per hour of fishing, resulting in an estimated 234 t to 614 t of small fishing-related litter entering the ocean annually on the Scottish west coast. These results suggest that fishing on the Atlantic coast of Scotland may be a significant source of marine plastic. However, more modelled and observational data are required to reduce uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Allison
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban PA37 1QA, United Kingdom.
| | - Andrew C Dale
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban PA37 1QA, United Kingdom
| | - Bhavani E Narayanaswamy
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban PA37 1QA, United Kingdom
| | - William R Turrell
- Scottish Government Marine Directorate, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB11 9DB, United Kingdom
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2
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Apete L, Martin OV, Iacovidou E. Fishing plastic waste: Knowns and known unknowns. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 205:116530. [PMID: 38861797 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116530] [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: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 05/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Plastics entering the marine environment primarily originate from land-based sources, prompting significant attention on single-use plastic packaging. However, fishing plastic waste also contributes substantially to marine plastic pollution, though it is often overlooked in the literature due to the challenges in pinpointing pollution sources. This study addresses this key knowledge gap by synthesizing existing literature to explore and document the knowns and known unknowns surrounding fishing plastic waste's environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts. Through the development of a causal loop diagram, the study offers a preliminary understanding of the issue, serving as a foundation for a deeper exploration of the complexities within the fishing industry's plastic waste dynamics. Finally, the study highlights that short-sighted views and approaches are likely to lead to systemic failures. Therefore, it advocates for strategic and meaningful measures to tackle marine plastic pollution, emphasizing the critical importance of a holistic and integrated understanding of the various plastic waste streams infiltrating and polluting our oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisha Apete
- Division of Environmental Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom; Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, Department of Arts and Science, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Olwenn V Martin
- Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, Department of Arts and Science, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Eleni Iacovidou
- Division of Environmental Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
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3
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Høiberg MA, Stadler K, Verones F. Disentangling marine plastic impacts in Life Cycle Assessment: Spatially explicit Characterization Factors for ecosystem quality. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 949:175019. [PMID: 39059661 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Inputs of persistent plastic items to marine environments continue to pose a serious and long-term threat to marine fauna and ecosystem health, justifying further interventions on local and global scales. While Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is frequently used for sustainability evaluations by industries and policymakers, plastic leakage to the environment and its subsequent impacts remains absent from the framework. Incorporating plastic pollution in the assessments requires development of both inventories and impact assessment methods. Here, we propose spatially explicit Characterization Factors (CF) for quantifying the impacts of plastic entanglement on marine megafauna (mammals, birds and reptiles) on a global scale. We utilize Lagrangian particle tracking and a Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) model along with species susceptibility records to estimate potential entanglement impacts stemming from lost plastic-based fishing gear. By simulating plastic losses from fishing hotspots within all Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) we provide country-specific impact estimates for use in LCA. The impacts were found to be similar across regions, although the median CF associated with Oceania was higher compared to Europe, Africa and Asia. Our findings underscore the presence of susceptible species across the world and the transboundary issue of plastic pollution. We discuss the application of the factors and identify areas of further refinement that can contribute towards a comprehensive assessment of macroplastic pollution in sustainability assessments. Degradation and beaching rates for different types of fishing gear remain a research gap, along with population-level effects on marine taxa beyond surface breathing megafauna. Increasing the coverage of impacts specific to the marine realm in LCA alongside other stressors can facilitate informed decision-making towards more sustainable marine resource management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marthe A Høiberg
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Konstantin Stadler
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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4
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Vilke JM, Fonseca TG, Alkimin GD, Gonçalves JM, Edo C, Errico GD, Seilitz FS, Rotander A, Benedetti M, Regoli F, Lüchmann KH, Bebianno MJ. Looking beyond the obvious: The ecotoxicological impact of the leachate from fishing nets and cables in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 473:134479. [PMID: 38762985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134479] [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: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Once in the marine environment, fishing nets and cables undergo weathering, breaking down into micro and nano-size particles and leaching plastic additives, which negatively affect marine biota. This study aims to unravel the ecotoxicological impact of different concentrations of leachate obtained from abandoned or lost fishing nets and cables in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis under long-term exposure (28 days). Biochemical biomarkers linked to antioxidant defense system, xenobiotic biotransformation, oxidative damage, genotoxicity, and neurotoxicity were evaluated in different mussel tissues. The chemical nature of the fishing nets and cables and the chemical composition of the leachate were assessed and metals, plasticizers, UV stabilizers, flame retardants, antioxidants, dyes, flavoring agents, preservatives, intermediates and photo initiators were detected. The leachate severely affected the antioxidant and biotransformation systems in mussels' tissues. Following exposure to 1 mg·L-1 of leachate, mussels' defense system was enhanced to prevent oxidative damage. In contrast, in mussels exposed to 10 and 100 mg·L-1 of leachate, defenses failed to overcome pro-oxidant molecules, resulting in genotoxicity and oxidative damage. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Weight of Evidence (WOE) evaluation confirmed that mussels were significantly affected by the leachate being the hazard of the leachate concentrations of 10 mg·L-1 ranked as major, while 1 and 100 mg·L-1 was moderate. These results highlighted that the leachate from fishing nets and cables can be a threat to the heath of the mussel M. galloprovincialis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliano M Vilke
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal; Multicenter Program in Postgraduate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - PMBqBM, Santa Catarina State University, Lages 88520-000, Brazil
| | - Tainá G Fonseca
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal
| | - Gilberto D Alkimin
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal
| | - Joanna M Gonçalves
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal
| | - Carlos Edo
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal; Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Giuseppe d' Errico
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Vita e Dell'Ambiente, Università Politecnica Delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
| | | | - Anna Rotander
- Man-Technology-Environment (MTM) Research Centre, Örebro University, SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden
| | - Maura Benedetti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Vita e Dell'Ambiente, Università Politecnica Delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesco Regoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Vita e Dell'Ambiente, Università Politecnica Delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Karim H Lüchmann
- Department of Scientific and Technological Education, Santa Catarina State University, Florianopolis 88035-001, Brazil
| | - Maria João Bebianno
- Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA/ARNET - Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro 8000-139, Portugal.
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McMullen K, Calle P, Alvarado-Cadena O, Kowal MD, Espinoza E, Domínguez GA, Tirapé A, Vargas FH, Grant E, Hunt BPV, Pakhomov EA, Alava JJ. Ecotoxicological Assessment of Microplastics and Cellulose Particles in the Galápagos Islands and Galápagos Penguin Food Web. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024; 43:1442-1457. [PMID: 38695731 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5874] [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: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Microplastic pollution threatens some of the world's most iconic locations for marine biodiversity, including the remote Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Using the Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) as a sentinel species, the present study assessed microplastics and suspected anthropogenic cellulose concentrations in surface seawater and zooplankton near Santa Cruz and Galápagos penguin colonies (Floreana, Isabela, Santiago), as well as in penguin potential prey (anchovies, mullets, milkfish) and penguin scat. On average, 0.40 ± 0.32 microplastics L-1 were found in surface seawater (<10 μm; n = 63 L), while 0.003, 0.27, and 5.12 microplastics individual-1 were found in zooplankton (n = 3372), anchovies (n = 11), and mullets (n = 6), respectively. The highest concentration (27 microplastics individual-1) was observed in a single milkfish. Calculations based on microplastics per gram of prey, in a potential diet composition scenario, suggest that the Galápagos penguin may consume 2881 to 9602 microplastics daily from prey. Despite this, no microplastics or cellulose were identified in 3.40 g of guano collected from two penguins. Our study confirms microplastic exposure in the pelagic food web and endangered penguin species within the UNESCO World Heritage site Galápagos Islands, which can be used to inform regional and international policies to mitigate plastic pollution and conserve biodiversity in the global ocean. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1442-1457. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karly McMullen
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Paola Calle
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Omar Alvarado-Cadena
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Matthew D Kowal
- Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Eduardo Espinoza
- Marine Ecosystem Monitoring Program, Galapagos National Park Directorate (Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos), Puerto Ayora, Ecuador
| | - Gustavo A Domínguez
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Ana Tirapé
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | | | - Edward Grant
- Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Brian P V Hunt
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Evgeny A Pakhomov
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Juan José Alava
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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6
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de Deus BCT, Costa TC, Altomari LN, Brovini EM, de Brito PSD, Cardoso SJ. Coastal plastic pollution: A global perspective. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 203:116478. [PMID: 38735173 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116478] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems have ecological importance worldwide and require control and prevention measures to mitigate human pollution. The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review to provide a comprehensive overview of the global issue of coastal plastic pollution. 689 articles were eligible for qualitative synthesis and 31 were considered for quantitative analysis. There was an exponential increase in articles addressing coastal plastic pollution over the past 50 years. Studies were mainly carried out on beaches, and plastic bottles were the most found item, followed by cigarette butts. Polyethylene was the predominant plastic polymer, and white microplastic fragments stood out. China published most articles on the topic and Brazil had the highest number of sites sampled. Meta-analysis had significant effect sizes based on the reported data. These findings carry significant implications for environmental policies, waste management practices, and targeted awareness campaigns aimed at mitigating plastic pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Corrêa Thomé de Deus
- Postgraduate Program in Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, 36036-900, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Thaiane Cantarino Costa
- Postgraduate Program in Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, 36036-900, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Leslie Nascimento Altomari
- Postgraduate Program in Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, 36036-900, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Emília Marques Brovini
- Postgraduate Program in Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Campus Universitário, Morro do Cruzeiro, 35400-000 Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Paulo Sérgio Duque de Brito
- VALORIZA Research Centre, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Campus Politécnico, 10, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal
| | - Simone Jaqueline Cardoso
- Postgraduate Program in Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, 36036-900, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Rua José Lourenço Kelmer, 36036-900, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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7
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Berg CJ, Hafner J, Lamson MR, Maximenko NA, Welti CW. Interannual variability in marine debris accumulation on Hawaiian shores: The role of North Pacific Ocean basin-scale dynamics. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 203:116484. [PMID: 38781802 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116484] [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: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Community-based marine debris removal efforts on the Hawaiian Islands of Kaua'i and Hawai'i, spanning 2013-2022, provided large datasets and documented remarkable variations in annual amounts of debris, mainly from abandoned, lost and derelict fishing gear. To test the hypothesis that the influx of marine debris on Hawaiian shores is determined by the proximity of the North Pacific garbage patch, whose pattern changes under the control of large-scale ocean dynamics, we compared these observational data with the output of an oceanographic drift model. The high correlations between the total mass of debris collected and the model, ranging between r = 0.81 and r = 0.84, validate the attribution of the strong interannual signal to significant migrations of the garbage patch reproduced in the model experiments. Synchronous variations in marine debris fluxes on the two islands, separated by >500 km, confirm the large scale of the interannual changes in the North Pacific marine debris system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl J Berg
- Surfrider Foundation, Kaua'i Chapter, United States of America.
| | - Jan Hafner
- International Pacific Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States of America
| | | | - Nikolai A Maximenko
- International Pacific Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States of America
| | - Cynthia W Welti
- Surfrider Foundation, Kaua'i Chapter, United States of America
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8
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Benito-Kaesbach A, Suárez-Moncada J, Velastegui A, Moreno-Mendoza J, Vera-Zambrano M, Avendaño U, Ryan PG, Sanz-Lázaro C. Understanding the sources of marine litter in remote islands: The Galapagos islands as a case study. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 347:123772. [PMID: 38490527 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123772] [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: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Determining the sources of marine litter is necessary to mitigate this increasing global problem. Plastic bottles are useful tracers of marine litter and constitute the main item (24%) stranding on remote beaches in the Galapagos Islands. The aim of this study was to estimate the abundance of plastic bottles in remote beaches and inferred their sources. To do so, we collected plastic bottles at 60 remote Galapagos Island beaches from 2018 to 2022. 76% of beaches were qualified as badly polluted, with >34 bottles·100 m-1. Most identified bottles came from Peru (71%), followed by China (17%) and Ecuador (9%). Although most locally-sold products are made in Ecuador, they contribute little to beach litter loads. Polyethylene terephthalate bottles with lid (necessary for litter dispersal) represented 88% of all bottles, demonstrating that most of the litter reaching the Galapagos comes from distant sources, mainly from South America. However, bottle ages indicate that at least 10% of Peruvian, 26% of Ecuadorian, and all Chinese bottles likely were dumped from ships. Reducing marine litter reaching the Galapagos Islands requires tackling litter leakage from land-based sources in South America and better compliance with regulations banning the dumping of plastics and other persistent wastes from ships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Benito-Kaesbach
- Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, PO Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain.
| | - Jenifer Suárez-Moncada
- Department of Marine Ecosystems, Galapagos National Park Directorate, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Alfonso Velastegui
- Department of Marine Ecosystems, Galapagos National Park Directorate, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Jerson Moreno-Mendoza
- Conservación Internacional Ecuador, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Mariana Vera-Zambrano
- Conservación Internacional Ecuador, Av. Charles Darwin s/n, Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Ulises Avendaño
- Public Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Institute, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Peter G Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - Carlos Sanz-Lázaro
- Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, PO Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain; Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies (MIES), Universidad de Alicante, P.O. Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain
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9
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Oh J, Park SB, Cha C, Hwang DK, Park SA, Park J, Oh DX, Jeon H, Koo JM. Structural evaluation of Poly(lactic acid) degradation at standardized composting temperature of 58 degrees. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 354:141729. [PMID: 38492680 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141729] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The accumulation of petroleum-based plastics on our planet is causing serious environmental pollution. Biodegradable plastics, promoted as eco-friendly solutions, hold the potential to address this issue. However, their impact on the environment and the mechanisms of their natural degradation remain inadequately understood. Furthermore, the specific conditions set forth in international standards for evaluating the biodegradability of biodegradable plastics have led to misconceptions about their real-world behavior. To properly elucidate the relationship between their degradability and structure, this study mimics the thermal effect on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) under standardized composting temperature. The higher the crystallinity of PLA, the lower the degradation rate, which suggests that crystallinity is a key factor in determining degradation. The composting temperature of 58 °C induces crystallization by having a structural effect on the polymer, which in turn reduces the degradation rate of PLA. Therefore, control over temperature and crystallization during the processing and degradation of PLA is crucial, as it not only determines the biodegradability but also enhances the utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiwon Oh
- Research Center for Bio-based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan, 44429, Republic of Korea; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Bae Park
- Research Center for Bio-based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan, 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Chaenyung Cha
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Ki Hwang
- Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Seul-A Park
- Research Center for Bio-based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan, 44429, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeyoung Park
- Research Center for Bio-based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan, 44429, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, 04107, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongyeop X Oh
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Program in Environmental and Polymer Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyeonyeol Jeon
- Research Center for Bio-based Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Ulsan, 44429, Republic of Korea; Advanced Materials & Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jun Mo Koo
- Department of Organic Materials Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
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10
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Rynek R, Tekman MB, Rummel C, Bergmann M, Wagner S, Jahnke A, Reemtsma T. Hotspots of Floating Plastic Particles across the North Pacific Ocean. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:4302-4313. [PMID: 38394333 PMCID: PMC10919090 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05039] [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: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
The pollution of the marine environment with plastic debris is expected to increase, where ocean currents and winds cause their accumulation in convergence zones like the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). Surface-floating plastic (>330 μm) was collected in the North Pacific Ocean between Vancouver (Canada) and Singapore using a neuston catamaran and identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Baseline concentrations of 41,600-102,700 items km-2 were found, dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene. Higher concentrations (factors 4-10) of plastic items occurred not only in the NPSG (452,800 items km-2) but also in a second area, the Papaha̅naumokua̅kea Marine National Monument (PMNM, 285,200 items km-2). This second maximum was neither reported previously nor predicted by the applied ocean current model. Visual observations of floating debris (>5 cm; 8-2565 items km-2 and 34-4941 items km-2 including smaller "white bits") yielded similar patterns of baseline pollution (34-3265 items km-2) and elevated concentrations of plastic debris in the NPSG (67-4941 items km-2) and the PMNM (295-3748 items km-2). These findings suggest that ocean currents are not the only factor provoking plastic debris accumulation in the ocean. Visual observations may be useful to increase our knowledge of large-scale (micro)plastic pollution in the global oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robby Rynek
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mine B. Tekman
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut,
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
- Department
of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Ozyegin University, 34794 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Christoph Rummel
- Department
of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Helmholtz-Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Melanie Bergmann
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut,
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Stephan Wagner
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Annika Jahnke
- Department
of Exposure Science, Helmholtz-Centre for
Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute
for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen
University, 52047 Aachen, Germany
| | - Thorsten Reemtsma
- Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research − UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute
of Analytical Chemistry, University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Chandrakanthan K, Fraser MP, Herckes P. Microplastics are ubiquitous and increasing in soil of a sprawling urban area, Phoenix (Arizona). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167617. [PMID: 37804992 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics are environmental contaminants that have been extensively studied in marine and aquatic environments; terrestrial ecosystems, where most microplastics originate and have the potential to accumulate, typically receive less attention. This study aims to investigate the spatial and temporal soil concentrations of microplastics in a large desert metropolitan area, the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP-LTER) area. Soil samples from the Ecological Survey of Central Arizona (ESCA) surveys (2005 and 2015) were leveraged to study spatial distributions and the temporal change of microplastic abundances. The temporal soil microplastics data were supplemented by microplastics deposition fluxes in a central location within the area (Tempe, AZ) for a period of one year (Oct 5th, 2020 to Sept 22nd, 2021). Samples were processed and microplastics were counted under an optical microscope to obtain quantitative information of their distribution in soil. Results for the spatial variation of the microplastic abundances in soil samples in Phoenix and the surrounding areas of the Sonoran Desert from 2015 depict microplastics as ubiquitous and abundant in soils (122 to 1299 microplastics/kg) with no clear trends between different locations. Microplastics deposition fluxes show substantial deposition in the local area (71 to 389 microplastics/m2/day with an average deposition flux of 178 microplastics/m2/day) but the role of resuspension and redistribution by dust storms to deposition may contribute to the unclear spatial trends. Comparison between the 2005 and 2015 surveys show a systematic increase in the abundance of microplastics and a decrease in microplastics size. Micro-Raman spectroscopy identified a variety of plastics including PE, PS, PVC, PA, PES and PP. However, a majority of microplastics remained chemically unidentifiable. Polyethylene was present in 75 % of the sampling sites and was the most abundant polymer on average in all soil samples.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew P Fraser
- School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States
| | - Pierre Herckes
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
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12
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Corniuk RN, Shaw KR, McWhirter A, Lynch HW, Royer SJ, Lynch JM. Polymer identification of floating derelict fishing gear from O'ahu, Hawai'i. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 196:115570. [PMID: 37776741 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
Discarded fishing gear (DFG) comprises most of the plastic in the North Pacific Ocean and causes environmental and economic losses. Building evidence on the material construction of fishing gear types is critical to develop solutions to reduce DFG amounts and impacts. We forensically assessed the construction and chemical composition of eight different gear types removed as DFG around O'ahu, Hawai'i. A thorough dissection and novel analysis was conducted including the documentation of gear constructions, polymer identification using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, and elemental additive detection using X-ray fluorescence. Twenty-six different polymers were identified, and most gear consisted of polyethylene variants or blends. This inventory of physical and chemical characterization of DFG can help future polymer identification of particular gear types through visual techniques. Additionally, it can aid in identifying sources of these gear types and promote recycling options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel N Corniuk
- Hawai'i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research, United States of America.
| | - Katherine R Shaw
- Hawai'i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research, United States of America; National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States of America
| | - Andrew McWhirter
- Hawai'i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research, United States of America
| | | | - Sarah-Jeanne Royer
- Hawai'i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research, United States of America
| | - Jennifer M Lynch
- Hawai'i Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research, United States of America; National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States of America
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13
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Royer SJ, Corniuk RN, McWhirter A, Lynch HW, Pollock K, O'Brien K, Escalle L, Stevens KA, Moreno G, Lynch JM. Large floating abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is frequent marine pollution in the Hawaiian Islands and Palmyra Atoll. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 196:115585. [PMID: 37778244 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115585] [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: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a major source of marine debris with significant ecological and economic consequences. We documented the frequency, types, sizes, and impacts of ALDFG recovered from Hawai'i and Palmyra Atoll in the Central North Pacific Ocean (CNPO) from 2009 to 2021. A total of 253 events weighing 15 metric tons were recovered, including 120 drifting fish aggregating device (dFAD) components, 61 conglomerates, fewer distinct nets, lines, buoys, and unique gear. The Hawaiian Islands were dominated by conglomerates and Palmyra Atoll by dFADs. DFADs were connected to the Eastern Pacific tropical tuna purse seine fishery. Windward O'ahu experienced up to seven events or 1800 kg of ALDFG per month. Across Hawai', ALDFG was present on 55 % of survey days, including hotspots with 100 % occurrence. Coral reef damage, entangled wildlife, navigational and removal costs are reported. The data highlight the large magnitude of ALDFG and associated impacts in the CNPO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah-Jeanne Royer
- Center for Marine Debris Research, Hawai'i Pacific University, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA; The Ocean Cleanup, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Raquel N Corniuk
- Center for Marine Debris Research, Hawai'i Pacific University, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA
| | - Andrew McWhirter
- Center for Marine Debris Research, Hawai'i Pacific University, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA
| | | | | | - Kevin O'Brien
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, Kailua, HI 96734, USA
| | - Lauriane Escalle
- Oceanic Fisheries Programme, The Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Katherine A Stevens
- Center for Marine Debris Research, Hawai'i Pacific University, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA
| | - Gala Moreno
- International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer M Lynch
- Center for Marine Debris Research, Hawai'i Pacific University, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA; Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Waimanalo, HI 96795, USA.
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14
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Wu X, Lee WT, Turnell-Ritson RC, Delannoi PCL, Lin KH, Dyson PJ. Controlling the selectivity of the hydrogenolysis of polyamides catalysed by ceria-supported metal nanoparticles. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6524. [PMID: 37845260 PMCID: PMC10579319 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42246-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Catalytic hydrogenolysis is a promising approach to transform waste plastic into valuable chemicals. However, the transformation of N-containing polymers, such as polyamides (i.e. nylon), remains under-investigated, particularly by heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we demonstrate the hydrogenolysis of various polyamides catalysed by platinum-group metal nanoparticles supported on CeO2. Ru/CeO2 and Pt/CeO2 are both highly active but display different selectivity; Ru/CeO2 is selective for the conversion of all polyamides into water, ammonia, and methane, whereas Pt/CeO2 yields hydrocarbons retaining the carbon backbone of the parent polyamide. Density functional theory computations illustrate that Pt nanoparticles require higher activation energy for carbon-carbon bond cleavage than Ru nanoparticles, rationalising the observed selectivity. The high activity and product selectivity of both catalysts was maintained when converting real-world polyamide products, such as fishing net. This study provides a mechanistic basis for heterogeneously catalysed polyamide hydrogenolysis, and a new approach to the valorisation of polyamide containing waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- XinBang Wu
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Wei-Tse Lee
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roland C Turnell-Ritson
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pauline C L Delannoi
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kun-Han Lin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Hsinchu, Taiwan.
| | - Paul J Dyson
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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15
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Senes GP, Barboza LGA, Nunes LM, Otero XL. Microplastics in feces and pellets from yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) in the Atlantic Islands National Park of Galicia (NW Spain). MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 195:115531. [PMID: 37717496 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
The Atlantic Islands National Park (AINP) in Galicia (NW of Spain) are host to large colonies of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis). Here, we aimed to provide baseline data for the presence of microplastics (MP) in feces and pellets regurgitated of these resident yellow-legged gulls within this unique ecosystem. MP particles found in the samples were of five shapes (fiber, fragment, foam, film and rubber) and the predominant color was blue. The main plastic polymers identified by Raman spectroscopy were polypropylene and cellulose. The average size of the MP particles in the regurgitations was larger than that in the feces. Considering the population of Larus michahellis in the AINP, our estimates suggested an annual deposition of approximately 32.2 million of MP particles from feces and regurgitated pellets in the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Paolo Senes
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal; CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal; CRETUS, Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies, Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Luís Gabriel A Barboza
- CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Research Team of Ecotoxicology, Stress Ecology and Environmental Health (ECOTOX), Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal; ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Department of Populations Study, Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Ecology (ECOTOX), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal
| | - Luis M Nunes
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
| | - Xosé Luis Otero
- CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal; REBUSC Rede de Estacións Biolóxicas da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Estación de Bioloxia Mariña A Graña, Ferrol, Spain
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16
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Allison NL, Dale AC, Turrell WR, Narayanaswamy BE. Modelled and observed plastic pollution on remote Scottish beaches: The importance of local marine sources. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 194:115341. [PMID: 37595333 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115341] [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: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Beach-cleans conducted on the west coast of Scotland investigated the distribution of land- and marine-sourced litter and compared these with a particle tracking model representing the presumed principal land-based source. Modelled particles dispersed widely, even reaching the remote northwest coast, with 'hotspots' and 'coldspots' on windward and leeward coasts respectively. In beach sampling, however, land-sourced litter represented only 19% of items by count and 8% by weight, while marine-sourced litter represented 46% by count and 62% by weight. The source of the remainder could not be identified. Windward coasts had an average count of 1859 litter items per 100 m, and weight of 14,862 g per 100 m. Leeward coasts had an average count of 32 litter items per 100 m and weight of 738 g per 100 m. Field observations and model predictions were consistent in many respects for land-sourced litter, however marine-sourced litter is dominant on many coastlines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L Allison
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban PA37 1QA, United Kingdom.
| | - Andrew C Dale
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban PA37 1QA, United Kingdom
| | - William R Turrell
- Marine Scotland Science, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB11 9DB, United Kingdom
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17
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Kim MS, Chang H, Zheng L, Yan Q, Pfleger BF, Klier J, Nelson K, Majumder ELW, Huber GW. A Review of Biodegradable Plastics: Chemistry, Applications, Properties, and Future Research Needs. Chem Rev 2023; 123:9915-9939. [PMID: 37470246 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Environmental concerns over waste plastics' effect on the environment are leading to the creation of biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics may serve as a promising approach to manage the issue of environmental accumulation of plastic waste in the ocean and soil. Biodegradable plastics are the type of polymers that can be degraded by microorganisms into small molecules (e.g., H2O, CO2, and CH4). However, there are misconceptions surrounding biodegradable plastics. For example, the term "biodegradable" on product labeling can be misconstrued by the public to imply that the product will degrade under any environmental conditions. Such misleading information leads to consumer encouragement of excessive consumption of certain goods and increased littering of products labeled as "biodegradable". This review not only provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art biodegradable plastics but also clarifies the definitions and various terms associated with biodegradable plastics, including oxo-degradable plastics, enzyme-mediated plastics, and biodegradation agents. Analytical techniques and standard test methods to evaluate the biodegradability of polymeric materials in alignment with international standards are summarized. The review summarizes the properties and industrial applications of previously developed biodegradable plastics and then discusses how biomass-derived monomers can create new types of biodegradable polymers by utilizing their unique chemical properties from oxygen-containing functional groups. The terminology and methodologies covered in the paper provide a perspective on directions for the design of new biodegradable polymers that possess not only advanced performance for practical applications but also environmental benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Soo Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Hochan Chang
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Lei Zheng
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Qiang Yan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Brian F Pfleger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
- DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - John Klier
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Kevin Nelson
- Amcor, Neenah Innovation Center, Neenah, Wisconsin 54956, United States
| | - Erica L-W Majumder
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - George W Huber
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin─Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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18
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Erdle LM, Eriksen M. Monitor compartments, mitigate sectors: A framework to deconstruct the complexity of plastic pollution. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 193:115198. [PMID: 37392595 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
The rapid growth in science, media, policymaking, and corporate action aimed at "solving" plastic pollution has revealed an overwhelming complexity, which can lead to paralysis, inaction, or a reliance on downstream mitigations. Plastic use is diverse - varied polymers, product and packaging design, pathways to the environment, and impacts - therefore there is no silver bullet solution. Policies addressing plastic pollution as a single phenomenon respond to this complexity with greater reliance on downstream mitigations, like recycling and cleanup. Here, we present a framework of dividing plastic use in society into sectors, which can be used to disentangle the complexity of plastic pollution and direct attention to upstream design for the circular economy. Monitoring plastic pollution in environmental compartments will continue to provide feedback on mitigations, but with a sector framework, scientists, industry, and policymakers can begin to shape actions to curb the harmful impacts of plastic pollution at the source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Erdle
- 5 Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
| | - Marcus Eriksen
- 5 Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
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19
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Kelly NE, Feyrer L, Gavel H, Trela O, Ledwell W, Breeze H, Marotte EC, McConney L, Whitehead H. Long term trends in floating plastic pollution within a marine protected area identifies threats for Endangered northern bottlenose whales. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 227:115686. [PMID: 36931376 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115686] [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: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
"The Gully", situated off Nova Scotia, Canada, is the largest submarine canyon in the western North Atlantic. This unique oceanographic feature, which became a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2004, is rich in marine biodiversity and is part of the critical habitat of Endangered northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus). To understand the potential impact of plastic pollution in the MPA and on this Endangered cetacean, we evaluated trends over time in the abundance and composition of plastics and compared these to the stomach contents of recently stranded northern bottlenose whales. From the 1990s-2010s, the median abundance of micro-sized (<5 mm) and small plastics (5 mm-2.5 cm) increased significantly, while the median abundance of large plastics (>2.5 cm) decreased significantly. Plastic abundance from the 2010s for micro-sized and small plastics varied from 5586-438 196 particles km-2, higher than previously measured estimates for surrounding offshore areas. Polymers identified using FTIR spectroscopy included polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate polyester, nylon, alkyds (paint), and natural and semi-synthetic cellulosic fibers. The abundance of large debris ranged from 0 to 108.6 items km-2 and consisted of plastic sheets and bags, food wrappers and containers, rope, fishing buoys, and small plastic fragments. Whale stomach contents contained fragments of fishing nets, ropes, bottle caps, cups, food wrappers, smaller plastic fragments, fibers, and paint flakes, consistent with the composition and character of items collected from their critical habitat. Despite being far from centres of human population, the unique oceanographic features of The Gully (i.e. currents and bathymetric complexity) may concentrate plastic debris, increasing exposure rates of whales to plastic pollution. The increase in micro-sized and small plastics over time suggests associated health and welfare impacts of ingested plastics should be accounted for in future recovery plans for this Endangered species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noreen E Kelly
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
| | - Laura Feyrer
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Heidi Gavel
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Olga Trela
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Wayne Ledwell
- Newfoundland and Labrador Whale Release and Strandings, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Heather Breeze
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Emmaline C Marotte
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Leah McConney
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
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20
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Viejo J, Cózar A, Quintana R, Martí E, Markelain G, Cabrera-Castro R, Arroyo GM, Montero E, Morales-Caselles C. Artisanal trawl fisheries as a sentinel of marine litter pollution. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 191:114882. [PMID: 37054479 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Systematic seafloor surveys are a highly desirable method of marine litter monitoring, but the high costs involved in seafloor sampling are not a trivial handicap. In the present work, we explore the opportunity provided by the artisanal trawling fisheries to obtain systematic data on marine litter in the Gulf of Cadiz between 2019 and 2021. We find that plastic was the most frequent material, with a prevalence of single-use and fishing-related items. Litter densities decreased with increasing distance to shore with a seasonal migration of the main litter hotspots. During pre-lockdown and post-lockdown stages derived from COVID-19, marine litter density decreased by 65 %, likely related to the decline in tourism and outdoor recreational activities. A continuous collaboration of 33 % of the local fleet would imply a removal of hundreds of thousands of items each year. The artisanal trawl fishing sector can play a unique role of monitoring marine litter on the seabed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josué Viejo
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Andrés Cózar
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Rocío Quintana
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Elisa Martí
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain
| | - Gorka Markelain
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Remedios Cabrera-Castro
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | - Gonzalo M Arroyo
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain
| | | | - Carmen Morales-Caselles
- Departamento de Biología, University of Cadiz, European University of the Seas (SEA-EU), Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Spain.
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21
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Su CT, Schneider F, Deshpande PC, Xiao HY, Su TA, Yen N, Lin HT. Material flow analysis of commercial fishing gears in Taiwan. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 190:114822. [PMID: 36934489 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114822] [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: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Marine debris is an international environmental issue, and the growing amount of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a particular concern. Despite Taiwan's substantial fishing industry, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of fishing gear. This work conducted a static material flow analysis to estimate the flows and the stocks of fishing gear in Taiwan in 2020, based on government statistics and interviews with fishing gears producing companies, fishermen, and recycling companies. Our findings reveal that the inflow, outflow, and stock of the fishing gears are 8,846 t/a, 4,271 t/a, and 4,575 t/a, respectively. Only 36 % of end-of-life fishing gear is recycled, while the rest is incinerated or landfilled. Additionally, the stock comprises 27 % in use, 23 % in ports, and 50 % entering the ocean. These results underscore the need to increase recycling capacity, prevent loss in oceans, and promote repairs to extend the lifespan of fishing gear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Tuan Su
- National Cheng Kung University, Department of Environmental Engineering, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Falk Schneider
- National Cheng Kung University, Department of Environmental Engineering, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Paritosh C Deshpande
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Hui-Ya Xiao
- National Cheng Kung University, Department of Environmental Engineering, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Tien-An Su
- National Cheng Kung University, Department of Environmental Engineering, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Ning Yen
- IndigoWaters Institute, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Tien Lin
- National Cheng Kung University, Department of Environmental Engineering, No. 1 University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan.
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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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Leone G, Moulaert I, Devriese LI, Sandra M, Pauwels I, Goethals PLM, Everaert G, Catarino AI. A comprehensive assessment of plastic remediation technologies. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 173:107854. [PMID: 36878107 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107854] [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: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The global presence of plastic litter and its accumulation in the environment has become an issue of concern to the public and policymakers. This concern has triggered innovators in past decades to design and develop a multitude of remediation technologies to prevent plastic from entering the environment, or to clean up legacy litter. This study aims to (i) systematically review the current scientific literature on plastic remediation technologies, (ii) create a 'plastic clean-up and prevention overview' illustrating 124 remediation technologies and 29 characteristics, (iii) qualitatively analyse their key characteristics (e.g., fields of application, targeted plastic), and (iv) investigate challenges and opportunities of clean-up technologies for inland waterways (e.g., canals, rivers) and ports. We identified 61 scientific publications on plastic remediation technologies, until June 2022. Thirty-four of these studies were published within the last three years, demonstrating a growing interest. The presented overview indicates that inland waterways are, so far, the preferred field of application, with 22 technologies specifically designed for cleaning up plastics from inland waterways, and 52 additional ones with the potential to be installed in these locations. Given the importance of clean-up technologies in inland waterways, we highlighted their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Our results indicate that, despite the challenges, these technologies provide essential prospects, from improving the environmental quality to raising awareness. Our study is instrumental as it illustrates an up-to-date overview and provides a comprehensive analysis of current in design phase, testing, and in use plastic remediation technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Leone
- Ghent University, Research Group Aquatic Ecology, Ghent, Belgium; Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium; Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Aquatic Management, Brussels, Belgium; Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Ine Moulaert
- Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
| | - Lisa I Devriese
- Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
| | - Matthias Sandra
- Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
| | - Ine Pauwels
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Aquatic Management, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Gert Everaert
- Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
| | - Ana I Catarino
- Flanders Marine Institute, (VLIZ), InnovOcean Site, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
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Ece E, Hacıosmanoğlu N, Inci F. Microfluidics as a Ray of Hope for Microplastic Pollution. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:332. [PMID: 36979544 PMCID: PMC10046247 DOI: 10.3390/bios13030332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Microplastic (MP) pollution is rising at an alarming rate, imposing overwhelming problems for the ecosystem. The impact of MPs on life and environmental cycles has already reached a point of no return; yet global awareness of this issue and regulations regarding MP exposure could change this situation in favor of human health. Detection and separation methods for different MPs need to be deployed to achieve the goal of reversing the effect of MPs. Microfluidics is a well-established technology that enables to manipulate samples in microliter volumes in an unprecedented manner. Owing to its low cost, ease of operation, and high efficiency, microfluidics holds immense potential to tackle unmet challenges in MP. In this review, conventional MP detection and separation technologies are comprehensively reviewed, along with state-of-the-art examples of microfluidic platforms. In addition, we herein denote an insight into future directions for microfluidics and how this technology would provide a more efficient solution to potentially eradicate MP pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emre Ece
- UNAM-National Nanotechnology Research Center, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Nedim Hacıosmanoğlu
- UNAM-National Nanotechnology Research Center, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
| | - Fatih Inci
- UNAM-National Nanotechnology Research Center, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
- Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
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