An environmental concentration of aged microplastics with adsorbed silver significantly affects aquatic organisms

Kalčíková, Gabriela; Skalar, Tina; Marolt, Gregor; Kokalj, Anita Jemec

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115644

Cited by 223 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…It is known that MPs can adsorb and desorb various contaminants; thus, measuring the potential presence of these contaminants would provide additional insight. In fact, in laboratory studies, the tested MPs are often pristine (not contaminated with chemicals, heavy metals or pathogens) and not aged/weathered that may subsequently increase their toxic effects by increasing the surface area/ polarity (Kalčíková et al, 2020). Neverthless, changes to BSFL pupation may adversely affect their roles in the environment, and it would be of particular interest to know the effects of MPs on adult emergence rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics affected black soldier fly (Hermetiaillucens) pupation and short chain fatty acids

Romano

Fischer

2021

J Applied Entomology

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Plastics are used in almost every form of daily life where it is estimated that 300 million tonnes are produced each year, with 51% of production in Asia (PlasticsEurope, 2019). Unfortunately, plastics are often single-use and thus end up in landfills and water ways where they eventually degrade into microscopic (1-1,000 µm) secondary microplastics (MPs) (Burns & Boxall, 2018). Typically, secondary MPs are non-uniformly shaped fragments and the most commonly found include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) (do Sul et al., 2013). The prevalence of MPs in various waterways, both freshwater and marine, has been globally documented, but are also being found in the air and soil (Enyoh et al., 2019; Oliveira & Almedia, 2019; Möller et al., 2020). Oliveira & Almedia (2019) emphasized that the prevalence of MPs is substantially understudied in soils, despite having a high capacity to retain and accumulate MPs. Perhaps not surprisingly, MPs in uncontrolled landfills are substantially higher and can reach up to 91 particles/g refuse (He et al., 2019; Hou et al., 2021; Su et al., 2019). According to the most recent estimates, plastics are the third most common material in landfills at 19.2%, based on weight in the United States (EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 2020). Paper and food waste are first and second, respectively, in landfills based on weight (EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 2020). Thus, im-properly managed landfills attract various pests and insects, including black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (Fadila et al., 2020;Qasim et al., 2020), which makes it a real possibility that black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can be exposed to MPs. This could have ecological implications, especially considering adult black soldier flies are pollinators (Srikanth et al., 2013). Moreover, there has been increasing interest in feeding BSFL with landfill residue and leachate as an environmentally friendly method to convert this waste into a high-value prod-

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics affected black soldier fly (Hermetiaillucens) pupation and short chain fatty acids

Romano

Fischer

2021

J Applied Entomology

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“…The effects of microplastics on bioaccumulation depend on the chemical a nity between microplastics and contaminants (Tourinho et al, 2019). The adsorption of Ag onto microplastics is very likely to occur in aquatic systems in both ionic (Kalčíková et al, 2020;Khan et al, 2015) and nanoparticle forms . However, there is no literature available regarding terrestrial systems yet.…”

Section: Microplastic Ber In Uence On Ag Bioaccumulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic fibers influence Ag toxicity and bioaccumulation in Eisenia andrei but not in Enchytraeus crypticus

et al. 2021

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Microplastic bers (MF) are released from synthetic textiles during washing and end up in the wastewater. Similarly, silver nanoparticles (AgNP), incorporated in textiles as antimicrobial agents, are released in washing machines, also reaching the wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, both MF and AgNP co-exist in the environment, and enter the soil compartment mainly via the application of biosolids.Yet, the combined effect of MF and AgNP has not been studied. Here, we assessed the effects of polyester MF (0.01% DW) on the toxicity of AgNP (32, 100, 320, 1000, 3200 mg Ag/kg) and AgNO 3 (12.8, 32, 80, 200, 500 mg Ag/kg) to the earthworm Eisenia andrei and the enchytraeid Enchytraeus crypticus. The exposure to MF caused a decrease in the number of juveniles and changed the biochemical composition of earthworms. Moreover, the presence of MF increased the toxicity of AgNP to earthworm reproduction (EC50 = 165 mg Ag/kg) when compared to AgNP exposure alone (EC50 = 450 mg Ag/kg), but did not alter the toxicity of AgNO 3 (EC50 = 40 mg Ag/kg). For enchytraeids, no signi cant difference in Ag toxicity could be detected when MF was added to the soil for both AgNP and AgNO 3 . Overall, Ag bioaccumulation was not affected by MF, with the exception of a decrease in earthworm body concentration at the highest Ag soil concentration (3200 mg Ag/kg). Our results suggest that the presence of MF in the soil compartment may be a cause of concern, and that the joint exposure to Ag may be deleterious depending on the Ag form, organism and endpoint. The present work provides the rst evidence that a realistic MF concentration in soil lowers AgNP concentration necessary to provoke reproductive impairment in earthworms. The in uence of MF on risk assessment of AgNP should be considered.

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“…For some metals, the amount of biofilm has been recently evidenced as well correlated with trace metals bioaccumulation [15]. Furthermore, an enhanced weathering of MPs is also susceptible to modify their surface properties, promoting biofouling [58,59], thus trace metal sorption [60]. Therefore, in this study, higher trace metal concentrations observed in MPs could potentially reflect a longer exposition to environmental alterations and/or to bacteria, both leading to higher biofilm growth.…”

Section: Inorganic Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Quantification of Microplastics in North-Western Mediterranean Harbors: Seasonality and Biofilm-Related Metallic Contaminants

Onrubia

Djaoudi

Borgogno³

et al. 2021

JMSE

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The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most impacted basins in terms of microplastics pollution. Land-based activities are the major sources of plastic litter to the ocean, with harbors probably representing significant hotspots. In the framework of the SPlasH! project (Stop alle Plastiche in H2O, Interreg Marittimo project), microplastics were sampled in three north-western Mediterranean harbors during summer and winter. In this study, the areal concentrations of microplastics ranged from 5576 to 379,965 items·km−2. A decreasing gradient was observed from the inner to the outer zones of the studied harbors, pointing out these enclosed systems as hotspots regarding microplastic pollution. During summer, the areal concentrations of microplastics were higher than in winter, which could be explained by an enhancement of port activities leading to MPs production. The investigation of microplastics size classes distribution in the surface waters revealed that microplastics within the size range between 300 µm and 500 µm were the least represented. In this study, we assessed trace metal (Pb, Fe, Cu, V, Cd and As) bioaccumulation by the biofilm which developed on the surface of microplastics. The results highlighted that concentrations within the biofilm were higher than those in the surrounding waters. This result strongly suggested trace metal bioaccumulation on microplastics through biofilm formation. When trace metal concentrations were normalized over the corresponding surface of microplastics and macroplastics, higher values were obtained for microplastics, evidencing their enhanced capacities to bioaccumulate contaminants when compared to macroplastics.

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An environmental concentration of aged microplastics with adsorbed silver significantly affects aquatic organisms

Cited by 223 publications

References 47 publications

Microplastics affected black soldier fly (Hermetiaillucens) pupation and short chain fatty acids

Microplastics affected black soldier fly (Hermetiaillucens) pupation and short chain fatty acids

Microplastic fibers influence Ag toxicity and bioaccumulation in Eisenia andrei but not in Enchytraeus crypticus

Quantification of Microplastics in North-Western Mediterranean Harbors: Seasonality and Biofilm-Related Metallic Contaminants

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