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Identification and quantification of additive-derived chemicals in beached micro-mesoplastics and macroplastics.
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Researchers screened 261 macro- and micro-mesoplastic debris samples from two beaches for plastic additives, detecting 52 chemicals including antioxidants, phthalates, UV stabilizers, and flame retardants, and finding that antioxidant degradation products served as markers for weathering duration in the marine environment.
Although marine plastic debris are expected to retain various chemical additives, little is known about the additives that are retained. We conducted a screening analysis of additives in 261 macroplastic and micro-mesoplastic debris from two beaches. We detected 52 chemicals-antioxidants, phthalates, ultraviolet stabilizers, hindered amine light stabilizers, and flame retardants-and quantified the concentrations of 15 of them. Comparison of the concentrations of Irgafos 168, an antioxidant stabilizer, among sample categories indicated that leaching had occurred from micro-mesoplastics. Differences in diffusion rates between polymer types may explain faster leaching from polyethylene than polypropylene. The significant amounts of Irgafos 168 retained in even micro-mesoplastics indicated the importance of plastics as a vector of additives. This study provides fundamental data needed to assess the risks to organisms from exposure to plastic additives and to understand the effect of stabilizers on the aging behavior of marine plastics.
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Researchers reviewed how chemical additives mixed into plastics during manufacturing — including stabilizers, flame retardants, and plasticizers — can leach out throughout a plastic's lifecycle and pose risks to ecosystems and human health, with microplastics acting as carriers that concentrate and transport these hazardous chemicals.
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Researchers compiled the first comprehensive database of studies measuring the more than 13,000 chemical additives — including plasticizers, flame retardants, and antioxidants — that are mixed into plastics and can leach into ocean water, sediment, and marine life. Their meta-analysis revealed major gaps in what's being monitored, with only a small fraction of known additives currently being tested for in marine environments.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.