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Hydrophobic organic contaminants affiliated with polymer-specific microplastics in urban river tributaries and estuaries
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Researchers measured hydrophobic organic contaminants affiliated with different types of floating microplastics collected from tributaries and estuaries in the Pearl River Delta, South China. The study found that contaminants were highly concentrated in microplastics, with polyethylene carrying the largest share of pollutant outflow to coastal waters, suggesting that microplastics serve as significant transport vectors for toxic chemicals in aquatic environments.
Exposure to microplastics (MPs) and hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) combined at high concentrations may induce adverse effects to aquatic organisms in laboratory-scale studies. To determine environmentally relevant concentrations of HOCs in MPs, it is essential to understand the occurrence of MP-affiliated HOCs in the aquatic environment. Here we report the occurrences of HOCs affiliated with polymer-specific floating MPs from 12 tributaries and three estuaries in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Target HOCs include nine synthetic musks (SMs), 14 ultraviolet adsorbents (UVAs), 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 14 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Average concentrations of MP-affiliated ∑SM, ∑UVA, ∑PAH, ∑PBDE, and ∑PCB were 1790, 5550, 1090, 412, and 107 ng g, respectively. The average concentrations of HOCs affiliated with MPs of different polymer types were 9790, 7220, 72,500, and 55,800 ng g for polyethylene (PE), polypropylene, polystyrene, and other MPs, respectively. As the concentration of PE was the highest among all MPs at the average concentration of 0.77 mg m, the monthly outflow of PE-affiliated HOCs accounted for the largest proportion (46 %) in the outflow of MP-affiliated HOCs (2.8 g) to the coastal ocean via three estuaries. These results suggest that HOCs were highly concentrated in MPs and varied among different chemicals and polymer types. Due to the differences of polymer characteristics and half-life of affiliated chemicals, future toxicology studies concerning exposure to these combined pollutants may need to specify polymer types and their affiliated chemicals.
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