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Leaching of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate from Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics in Synthetic Freshwater, Seawater, and Fish In Vitro Digestion Fluids
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Scientists found that PVC microplastics (like those from wire coatings) only release the harmful chemical DEHP—a plastic softener linked to hormone disruption—after being broken down by sunlight (UV aging); fresh, unweathered plastic didn't leach it at all. This matters because it shows that "old," sun-damaged plastic debris in oceans, lakes, or even fish guts may pose a greater chemical exposure risk than new plastic, though factors like salt water and food in the digestive tract can partly reduce how much of the chemical actually gets absorbed.
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide We investigated the leaching of additives from microplastics (MPs) derived from commercial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wire insulation into synthetic freshwater, synthetic seawater, and a fish in vitro digestion system. The experiments used an MP loading of 1 mg mL –1 to meet the instrumental LOQ; therefore, the system should be interpreted as a controlled mechanistic design rather than a direct simulation of environmental MP exposure. We identified aging as a critical factor for DEHP leaching. While nonaged MPs showed no quantifiable leaching, UV-aged MPs leached DEHP instantaneously across all media. In controlled aqueous systems, elevated salinity suppressed apparent DEHP concentrations, yielding lower values in seawater (46.8 ± 3.6 μg L –1 ) compared to freshwater (63.1 ± 4.4 μg L –1 ). During in vitro digestion, ground fish food acted as a dietary sorptive matrix and reduced apparent fluid-phase DEHP concentrations. DEHP reached 50.0 ± 3.4 μg L –1 in the gastric phase and 49.8 ± 2.4 μg L –1 in the intestinal phase without added food, whereas fluids containing ground fish food showed lower concentrations of 27.9 ± 2.3 μg L –1 and 27.3 ± 2.0 μg L –1, respectively. These findings demonstrate that UV aging, salinity, and dietary matrices regulate DEHP leaching and bioaccessibility from PVC MPs.
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This study found that sunlight aging of PVC microplastics accelerates the release of DEHP, a hormone-disrupting plasticizer, by 1.5 times compared to new plastics. The aging process also creates harmful breakdown products like MEHP and phthalic acid that leach into water. Since most microplastics in the environment have been exposed to sunlight, the actual release of toxic chemicals from plastic pollution is likely much higher than estimates based on new plastic suggest.
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Researchers found that environmental conditions like temperature, UV light, salinity, and pH strongly influence how fast the plasticizer DEHP leaches from PVC microplastics into water. Higher temperatures and UV exposure significantly accelerated the release of this endocrine-disrupting chemical. This is important because it means microplastics in warm, sunlit waters may release harmful additives much faster than lab studies under standard conditions would predict.
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Researchers investigated how photo-weathering alters the properties of polystyrene and PVC microplastics, affecting their ability to adsorb heavy metals and leach chemical additives. They found that UVC irradiation caused more significant surface changes than xenon light, and weathering accelerated the leaching rate of the plasticizer DEHP from PVC by three times. A health risk assessment showed that weathered microplastics posed roughly double the health risk of virgin microplastics.
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