Plastic pollution is a pervasive and growing problem. To estimate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce plastic pollution, we modeled stocks and flows of municipal solid waste and four sources of microplastics through the global plastic system for five scenarios between 2016 and 2040. Implementing all feasible interventions reduced plastic pollution by 40% from 2016 rates and 78% relative to ‘business as usual’ in 2040. Even with immediate and concerted action, 710 million metric tons of plastic waste cumulatively entered aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. To avoid a massive build-up of plastic in the environment, coordinated global action is urgently needed to reduce plastic consumption, increase rates of reuse, waste collection and recycling, expand safe disposal systems and accelerate innovation in the plastic value chain.

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Concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and three novel flame retardants, namely2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB), bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), and hexachlorocyclopentadienyldibromocyclooctane (HCDBCO), were determined in blubber samples of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides). The levels of HBCDs and PBDEs in cetacean samples ranged from 4.1 to 519 and 103 to 51,100 ng/g lw, respectively. A significant increasing trend of SigmaHBCDs was observed in dolphin samples from 1997 to 2007 with an estimated annual rate of 5%, whereas no significant temporal trends of SigmaPBDEs appeared over the sampling period. This pattern may be attributed to the increasing usage of HBCDs following the restriction/voluntary withdrawal of the production and use of PBDE commercial mixtures in several countries. HCDBCO was not found in the blubber samples. This is the first report of the presence of TBB and TBPH, two new flame retardants that have previously been identified in house dust from the U.S., in marine mammals; concentrations of these compounds in dolphins and porpoises ranged from the instrumental detection limit (IDL) (<0.04) to 70 and IDL (<0.04) to 3859 ng/g lw, respectively. Levels of TBPH were comparable to SigmaHBCDs in porpoise samples. The presence of these novel flame retardants in top-trophic-level marine organisms raises concern about their release into the environment and indicates the need for further monitoring of these compounds in other environmental matrices.

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Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a foodborne illness caused by consumption of coral reef fishes contaminated by ciguatoxins (CTXs); of the known CTX congeners, the Pacific ciguatoxins (P-CTXs) are the most toxic. Little is known about the trophodynamics of P-CTXs in coral reef systems. The present study explores the distribution, transfer, and trophic magnification of P-CTX-1, -2, and -3 in coral reef systems with high (ciguatoxic) and low (reference) ciguatoxicity in a CFP-endemic nation by use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In ciguatoxic coral reef systems, P-CTXs were detected in 54% of herbivorous fishes [total P-CTXs <0.500-1670 pg/g wet weight (ww)], 72% of omnivorous fishes (<0.500-1810 pg/g ww), and 76% of carnivorous fishes (<0.500-69 500 pg/g ww), as well as a lobster ( Panulirus penicillatus ; 2.36 pg/g ww) and an octopus (Octopodidae; 2.56 pg/g ww). The dominant P-CTXs in grazers and piscivorous fishes were P-CTX-2 and -1, respectively. No significant correlation between P-CTX levels and lipid content in three target predatory fishes indicated that accumulation of P-CTXs does not depend on fat content. A weak but significant positive relationship was observed between δ(15)N and P-CTX-1 levels, but further investigation is required to confirm its biomagnification potential.

The widespread distribution of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in different environmental matrices has prompted concern about the sources, fate, and transport of these classes of chemicals. PFCs are present in the atmosphere, but only a few studies have investigated their occurrence in precipitation. In this study, concentrations of 20 PFCs, including C3-C5 short-chain PFCs, were quantified using HPLC-MS/MS in precipitation samples from Japan (n = 31), the United States (n = 12), China (n = 5), India (n = 2), and France (n = 2). Among the PFCs measured, perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA) was detected in all of the precipitation samples. Average total PFC concentrations ranged from 1.40 to 18.1 ng/L for the seven cities studied. The greatest total PFC concentrations were detected in Tsukuba, Japan, whereas the lowest concentrations were detected in Patna, India. PFPrA, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were found to be the dominant PFCs in Japanese and U.S. precipitation samples. No observable seasonal trend was found in precipitation samples from two locations in Japan. Annual fluxes of PFCs were estimated for Japan and the U.S. and the evidence for precipitation as an effective scavenger of PFCs in the atmosphere is reported.

Organic ultraviolet (UV) filters are widely used in personal care products and occur ubiquitously in the aquatic environment. In this study, concentrations of seven commonly used organic UV filters were determined in seawater, sediment and five coral species collected from the eastern Pearl River Estuary of South China Sea. Five compounds, benzophenone-1, -3, and -8 (BP-1, -3, and -8), octocrylene (OC) and octyl dimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid (ODPABA), were detected in the coral tissues with the highest detection frequencies (>65%) and concentrations (31.8 ± 8.6 and 24.7 ± 10.6 ng/g ww, respectively) found for BP-3 and BP-8. Significantly higher concentrations of BP-3 were observed in coral tissues in the wet season, indicating that higher inputs of sunscreen agents could be attributed to the increased coastal recreational activities. Accumulation of UV filters was only observed in soft coral tissues with bioaccumulation factors (log-values) ranging from 2.21 to 3.01. The results of a preliminary risk assessment indicated that over 20% of coral samples from the study sites contained BP-3 concentrations exceeding the threshold values for causing larval deformities and mortality in the worst-case scenario. Higher probabilities of negative impacts of BP-3 on coral communities are predicted to occur in wet season.

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