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Effective degradation of organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in coastal sediments under high urban pressure
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Researchers measured how quickly organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants and plasticizers — chemicals commonly added to plastics — break down in Mediterranean coastal sediments, finding half-lives of 17 to 77 days depending on whether microbes were present. Since OPEs are often associated with plastic pollution, this data helps refine risk assessments for how long these plastic-linked chemicals persist in marine environments.
Empirical evidence of the effective degradation at environmentally relevant conditions of organophosphate esters (OPEs) flame retardants and plasticizers in coastal sediments from an impacted area in the NW Mediterranean Sea is provided. Half-lives varied from 23.3 to 77.0 (abiotic conditions) and from 16.8 to 46.8 days (biotic conditions), depending on the compound, highlighting the relevant role of microbial assemblages enhancing OPE degradation. After an immediate significant reduction of the bacterial abundance due to OPE addition to the sediment at the very beginning of the experiment, the observed biodegradation was associated to a general stimulation of the growth of the bacterial community during a first period, but without a marked change of the structure of the community. However, OPE contamination induced a decrease on the diversity of the bacterial community in the coastal sediment, noticeable after 14 days of incubation. It is likely that on one side the contamination had favoured the growth of some bacterial groups maybe involved in the biodegradation of these compounds but, on the other side, had also impacted some sensitive bacteria. The estimated half-lives fill a data gap concerning OPE degradation rates in marine sediments and will be valuable data for the refinement of OPE chemical risk assessment in marine environments, particularly on impacted sites.
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Researchers studied the leaching kinetics of organophosphate ester additives from microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that these flame retardants and plasticizers are released at rates that depend on temperature and water chemistry, with implications for bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms.
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Phthalate esters and organophosphate esters were measured alongside microplastics in surface seawater, sediment, and zooplankton from Marseille Bay in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Co-occurrence of microplastics and plastic additive chemicals in multiple environmental compartments including zooplankton confirmed trophic transfer of both particle and chemical contaminants.
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This study assessed whether phthalate plasticizers could serve as tracers for microplastic pollution in Mediterranean coastal waters, examining their occurrence, distribution, and interactions with the marine environment in one of the world's plastic pollution hotspots.
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Adding small amounts of polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics to marine sediments slightly enhanced breakdown of the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate, but higher concentrations inhibited degradation. The findings suggest microplastics alter the chemical fate of co-occurring pollutants in ocean sediments by affecting sorption and microbial communities.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.