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Environmental Microplastics as Vectors of Non-Polar Organic Pollutants in Drinking Water
Summary
Researchers investigated whether microplastics in drinking water can absorb and carry harmful organic pollutants like benzo-a-pyrene, a known carcinogen. They found that microplastics oxidized by UV light had a significant capacity to concentrate these pollutants from the surrounding water. The study raises concerns about a dual risk from microplastics in drinking water -- both from the plastic particles themselves and from the toxic chemicals they can carry.
Microplastics (MPs) in drinking water (DW) raise concerns about their potential impacts on health. Several substances, such as plasticizers and stabilizers, can be leached from plastic polymers following abiotic and biotic denaturation processes. Furthermore, the purification treatment of DW, such as the chlorination process, significantly increases the release of chemical components that are part of the polymer composition. Recently, several studies reported that MPs can adsorb environmental xenobiotics, such as organic molecules and heavy metals, thanks to their surface characteristics acquired in the environment in which they are dispersed. This study aims to evaluate the ability of MPs of different sizes (5 µm and 1 µm) oxidized by UVB exposure to adsorb water-dispersed organic pollutants such as benzo-a-pyrene (BaP). We used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Ζ-potential measurements to characterize MPs particles after UVB exposure and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the adsorptive capacity of oxidized MPs. The analytical results obtained from the present study demonstrate that oxidized MPs have a significant capacity to adsorb BaP dispersed in the aqueous environment and to act as a vehicle for apolar organic substances by concentrating them. This study raises an alert on the dual potential risk determined by the consumption of DW in which MPs can concentrate and convey environmental xenobiotics, in addition to deciding adverse effects related to their chemical-physical properties.