Chemical composition and ecotoxicity of plastic and car tire rubber leachates to aquatic organisms

Capolupo, Marco; Sørensen, Lisbet; Jayasena, Kongalage Don Ranil; Booth, Andy M.; Fabbri, Elena

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.115270

Cited by 376 publications

(207 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The presence of plastics may be harmful because they often leach toxic additives (Bejgarn et al 2015). For instance, PVC is known to contain high plasticiser concentrations such as phthalates (Hermabessiere et al 2017) which are toxic to aquatic organisms (Capolupo et al 2020). However, ingestion is not the only way in which animals can be affected by MPs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PVC and PET microplastics in caddisfly (Lepidostoma basale) cases reduce case stability

Ehlers

Najjar

Taupp

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Caddisfly larvae occur in streams and rivers, and many caddisfly species build protective cases using material from their habitat such as sand grains. At the same time, microplastics (MPs) are regularly deposited in aquatic sediments and are incorporated into caddisfly (Lepidostoma basale) cases in the field. However, it is unknown what the effects of MP incorporation into cases might be on the health of the caddisfly larvae. Hence, we offered two commonly used MPs (polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) to L. basale larvae during a laboratory experiment. Both plastic types have a high density and co-occur with L. basale larvae in benthic habitats. In our experiment, L. basale actively used sand, PET and PVC MPs for building tube-like portable or emergency cases. The latter is a temporary shelter under which the larva can hide for immediate protection. Furthermore, case stability decreased with increasing PVC and PET particle content in the cases, suggesting that MPs may threaten caddisflies by destabilising cases. When case stability is reduced, the protective function of the cases is limited and the larvae may be more prone to predation. Additionally, larvae may be washed away by the current as plastic is lighter than sand. Both effects could limit the caddisfly's survival, which could have far-reaching consequences as caddisfly larvae are important primary consumers in aquatic ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PVC and PET microplastics in caddisfly (Lepidostoma basale) cases reduce case stability

Ehlers

Najjar

Taupp

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…In addition to providing a surface to colonize, plastics can also leach a variety of compounds. Plastics may provide some dissolved organic carbon sources for some bacteria to metabolise 6,7 but they can also leach organic compounds and metals that negatively impact growth of a variety of microorganisms, including marine larvae 8,9 and algae 10 . Most plastic items are manufactured using a variety of additives, such as UV stabilisers, plasticizers, metals, dyes and flame retardants 11 .…”

Section: Plastic Pollution Affects Creatures Great and Smallmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both plastics also leached inorganic metals, with zinc observed at particularly high levels, especially in the PVC product. Zinc is a common component of heat stabilisers, fillers and colourants used in plastic manufacture, and has been reported as an important component in previous leachate studies, particularly those involving PVC materials 8,10 . Leachate components such as zinc, which are abundant and widely used in plastic manufacture, are potential targets for future studies focusing on how specific additives contribute to toxicity to various biota.…”

Section: Do Weathered Plastics Retain Their Toxicity?mentioning

confidence: 99%

How will marine plastic pollution affect bacterial primary producers?

2020

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We demonstrated in our recent Communications Biology paper how marine photosynthetic bacteria, Prochlorococcus, are adversely affected by leachates from commonly used plastics. This study was one of the first to consider how substances leaching from plastics may affect marine primary producers and demonstrated that plastic pollution has the potential to negatively impact a wider range of organisms than previously appreciated. We outline here key outstanding questions regarding how ocean plastic pollution may impact small, but essential, marine microbes and discuss how these can be addressed.

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“…Tyre debris is identified as a major source of MP in marine environments: 28% of the global release of MP to oceans is assumed to be released from tyres (Boucher and Friot 2017). Tyre rubber contains several chemicals of environmental concern, such as PAH and Zn, and leachate from tyre particles has shown ecotoxicological effects on aquatic organisms (Wik and Dave 2009;Capolupo et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrodynamic modelling of traffic-related microplastics discharged with stormwater into the Göta River in Sweden

Bondelind

Sokolova

Nguyen

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Microplastics (MP) are transported from land-based sources from rivers to marine waters. However, there is currently little knowledge about MP fate from land sources to marine waters. Traffic is estimated to be one of the largest sources of MP; hence, stormwater is expected to be an important transportation route of MP to marine waters. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the size and density of tyre wear particles in road runoff on their fate in the Göta River in Sweden using hydrodynamic modelling. The model of the stretch of Göta River, Sweden's largest river, passing through Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city) and out to the sea, was set up using MIKE 3 FM software. Literature data were used to define the MP characteristics: concentrations in stormwater, prevalent particle sizes, density of MP commonly occurring in road runoff and settling velocities. Results show that higher concentrations of MP are found on the south side of the river, compared with the north side, due to higher annual average daily traffic loads along the south side of the river. The mixing processes in the river and the MP concentrations were generally influenced by the vertical water density gradient caused by saline water from the Kattegat strait. While most MP with higher density and larger size settle in the river, smaller MP with density close to 1.0 g/cm 3 do not settle in the river and therefore reach the Kattegat strait and the marine environments. Further research is needed to describe the fate and transport of microplastics in the stormwater system, including treatment facilities, i.e. biofouling, aggregation, degradation and/or further fragmentation and settling.

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Chemical composition and ecotoxicity of plastic and car tire rubber leachates to aquatic organisms

Cited by 376 publications

References 45 publications

PVC and PET microplastics in caddisfly (Lepidostoma basale) cases reduce case stability

PVC and PET microplastics in caddisfly (Lepidostoma basale) cases reduce case stability

How will marine plastic pollution affect bacterial primary producers?

Hydrodynamic modelling of traffic-related microplastics discharged with stormwater into the Göta River in Sweden

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