Characterisation of microplastics and toxic chemicals extracted from microplastic samples from the North Pacific Gyre

Abstract

Environmental context. Microplastics are a new source of toxic compounds in marine and freshwater environments. This research documents the discovery of microplastic fibres in the seawater column and the chemical analysis of associated toxic chemicals in microplastic marine debris. Microplastic pollution is pervasive and hazardous.Abstract. Initial studies of floating plastic debris in the oceans dealt with macroscopic particles. This research found microscale plastic present as well. Chemical analysis of sorbed materials revealed toxic materials associated with the microparticles. Seawater and plastic fragment samples were collected in September 2007 in the North Pacific Central Gyre. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected by mass spectrometry in extracts from the plastic fragments. Net concentrations of PCBs ranged from 1 to 223 ng g À1 plastic. The most common synthetic polymers were found to be polypropylene and polyethylene. Microscopic plastic fibres and particles were also discovered in the seawater samples and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Analysis of filtered seawater samples also revealed toxic materials in concentrations lower than found on the plastic particles.

Foreword to ‘Microplastics in the Environment’

“…The results of Turner and Holmes show a worrying increase in the propensity of freshwater microplastics to sorb trace metals as compared to seawater microplastics. The universality of the widely observed presence of organic micropollutants in microplastics has been confirmed by Faure et al [6] in Swiss surface freshwater and by Rios Mendoza and Jones [9] in microplastics from the North Pacific Gyre, a well known debris accumulation zone in the ocean. Interestingly, measured values for polymer-water distribution coefficients for HAPs are in-line with laboratory determined octanol-water partition coefficients which may support predictive approaches in microplastic research and help to clarify earlier, contradictory, observations.…”

Microplastics Baseline Surveys at the Water Surface and in Sediments of the North-East Atlantic

“…Moreover, plastics can leach toxic additives and accumulate persistent organic pollutants (POPs) while residing in the marine environment. Some of these POPs are known to have endocrine disruptive and carcinogenic effects (Rios Mendoza and Jones, 2015). Furthermore, plastic particles create habitats for micro-organisms and other species, allowing potential invasive species to transfer to new areas of the ocean (Gregory, 2009;Keswani et al, 2016).…”

The research progress in migration, distribution, biological effects and analytical methods of microplastics

“…正是因为这些不 足 , 能 够 提 供 更 大 更 清 晰 图 像 的 扫 描 电 子 显 微 镜 (SEM)被应用到微塑料的显微镜检中. SEM可以提供 清晰的微塑料表面纹理图像 [104] , 微塑料的颜色在这 [100] 存在有机、无机颗粒干扰的情况不适用 [99] 显微镜检 提供清晰的微塑料表面纹理图像 [104] 出错率高、无法分析颜色信息 [102,103] 光谱分析 FTIR 提供微塑料的组成结构和丰度信息 [108,109] 耗时长、成本高 拉曼光谱 检测粒径小于1 μm的微塑料 [66] 对微塑料中的添加剂和颜料化学品很敏感 [105,111] 化学表征 DSC 应用广泛 只适用于初级微塑料 [113] Pyro-GC/MS 能分析微塑料的降解产物 [49] 不适用于大量样品的分析 [105] 新方法 SEM-EDS 检测微塑料中无机添加剂的成分 [115,117] 方法不成熟 TDS-GC/MS 受杂质影响小, 分析时间相对较短 [118] 要求的微塑料含量在1%以上 [118] 新型显微镜 TEM 能分析更小尺寸微塑料 [120] 方法不成熟 AFM 具有高成像分辨率, 能进行液体分析 [121] 方法不成熟 要是提供微塑料成分的化学键信息, 不同的键结构 会产生不同的峰型, 可以将微塑料和其他有机物、无 机物区分开 [105] . 透射、反射和衰减全反射都是傅利 叶红外常用于微塑料鉴定的方法 [106,107] , 其中衰减全 反射能提供最为稳定的表面光谱信息.…”

“…虽然SEM已经广泛应用于微塑料的分析鉴定中了, 但扫描电子显微镜能谱仪联用是在最近几年才开始 应用的 [100,116] . 扫描电子显微镜能谱仪联用主要是通 过检测微塑料中无机添加剂的成分来进行分析鉴定 的 [115,117] . ( ⅱ ) 热 吸 附 解 吸 与 气 相 色 谱 质 谱 联 用 (TDS-GC/MS).…”