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Influence of a suite of environmentally relevant conditions on PBT leaching from, and sorption to, marine microplastic debris
Summary
Researchers examined how environmental conditions such as UV exposure, weathering, and saltwater affect the ability of marine microplastics to absorb or release persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, finding that the type of plastic and its weathering history significantly influence how much chemical contamination it carries into the marine food web.
Synthetic polymers (plastics) enter marine environments from terrestrial and marine-based sources. The manner of release, the plastic’s composition/properties and ambient marine conditions determine debris fate and its impacts on living resources. It was long assumed that all plastics were persistent and inert, possessing negligible potential for chemical impacts. However, in reality, commercial polymers exhibit a range of potentials for interactions. Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals are lipophilic and may concentrate from ambient waters by orders of magnitude on polymer surfaces (Teuten et al., 2007). The type of polymer affects the degree of PBT sorption. Indeed, plastics have been found useful as passive samplers for measuring ambient concentrations of PBTs. Polymers also may be affected chemically or physically by weathering, e.g. exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (Andrady, 2011), or fragmentation by abrasion, such as on a beach. While additives can leach from plastics into the water, migration studies pertinent to the marine environment are rare. The picture is complicated further as weathering itself may alter the extent of PBT leaching and sorption. More ....