Microplastics
(MPs, <5 mm) have been reported as emerging environmental
contaminants, but reliable data are still lacking. We compared the
two most promising techniques for MP analysis, namely, Raman and Fourier
transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, by analyzing MPs extracted
from North Sea surface waters. Microplastics >500 μm were
visually
sorted and manually analyzed by μ-Raman and attenuated total
reflection (ATR)-FTIR spectroscopy. Microplastics ≤500 μm
were concentrated on gold-coated filters and analyzed by automated
single-particle exploration coupled to μ-Raman (ASPEx-μ-Raman)
and FTIR imaging (reflection mode). The number of identified MPs >500
μm was slightly higher for μ-Raman (+23%) than ATR-FTIR
analysis. Concerning MPs ≤500 μm, ASPEx-μ-Raman
quantified two-times higher MP numbers but required a four-times higher
analysis time compared to FTIR imaging. Because ASPEx-μ-Raman
revealed far higher MP concentrations (38–2621 particles m–3) compared to the results of previous water studies
(0–559 particles m–3), the environmental
concentration of MPs ≤500 μm may have been underestimated
until now. This may be attributed to the exceptional increase in concentration
with decreasing MP size found in this work. Our results demonstrate
the need for further research to enable time-efficient routine application
of ASPEx-μ-Raman for reliable MP counting down to 1 μm.
Research on the environmental impacts from the global value chain of plastics has typically focused on the disposal phase, considered most harmful to the environment and human health. However, the production of plastics is also responsible for substantial environmental, health and socioeconomic impacts. We show that the carbon and particulate-matter-related health footprint of plastics has doubled since 1995, due mainly to growth in plastics production in coal-based economies. Coal-based emissions have quadrupled since 1995, causing almost half of the plastics-related carbon and particulate-matter-related health footprint in 2015. Plastics-related carbon footprints of China’s transportation, Indonesia’s electronics industry and India’s construction sector have increased more than 50-fold since 1995. In 2015, plastics caused 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, 6% of global coal electricity is used for plastics production. The European Union and the United States have increasingly consumed plastics produced in coal-based economies. In 2015, 85% of the workforce required for plastics consumed by the European Union and the United States was employed abroad, but 80% of the related value added was generated domestically. As high-income regions have outsourced the energy-intensive steps of plastics production to coal-based economies, renewable energy investments throughout the plastics value chain are critical for sustainable production and consumption of plastics.
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