Examining the Relevance of the Microplastic-Associated Additive Fraction in Environmental Compartments

Abstract

Plastic contamination is ubiquitous in the environment and has been related to increasing global plastic usage since the 1950s. Considering the omnipresence of additives in plastics, the risk posed by this contamination is related not only to the physical effects of plastic particles but also to their additive content. Until now, most routine environmental monitoring programs involving additives have not considered the presence of these additives still associated with the plastic they were added to during their production. Understanding environmental additive speciation is essential to address the risk they pose through their bioavailability and plastic-associated transport. Here, we present and apply a theoretical framework for sampling and analytical procedures to characterize the speciation of hydrophobic nonionized additives in environmental compartments. We show that this simple framework can help develop sampling and sample treatment procedures to quantify plastic-associated additives and understand additive distribution between plastics and organic matter. When applied to concrete cases, internal consistency checks with the model allowed for identifying plastic-associated additives in a sample. In other cases, the plastic-organic carbon ratio and additive concentration in the matrix are key factors affecting the ability to identify plastic-associated additives. The effect of additive dissipation through diffusion out of plastic particles is also considered.

U–Pb geochronology of Variscan granitoids from the Moroccan Meseta (Northwest Africa): Tectonic implications

“…The colloidal properties of nanoplastics (Brownian motion and high surface reactivity) make them prone to aggregation (Gigault et al, 2021). They are also prone to leach additives and move through physiological barriers (Allan et al, 2022;Paul et al, 2020) more quickly than larger plastic particles, which can increase organisms' exposure to toxins, compared to the dangers of microand macroplastics that we knew about before. Consequently, the scientific community, the public, and policymakers expressed the urgent need to elucidate the environmental fate and impact of nanoplastics (Allan et al, 2020;GESAMP, 2015;SAPEA, 2019).…”

Nanoplastics are potentially more dangerous than microplastics

“…Nanoplastics also differ from engineered nanoparticles with respect to their interactions with light and natural organic matter that influence their mobility and degradation (Brewer et al 2020). Finally, plastic materials usually contain small amounts of additives in addition to their main polymer precursor, and leaching of such additives commonly occurs (Allan et al 2022;Turner and Filella 2021). Forthcoming studies should show potential toxic effects of additives in plastics.…”

Nanoplastic–plant interaction and implications for soil health

“…The toxicity of NPs is also related to plastic additives (Guo & Zhang, 2010). Numerous additives are commonly added to the base polymer to enhance the properties of plastic, such as plasticizers, flame retardants, pigments, antistatic and heat stabilizers (Allan et al, 2022). Since the weak bonding of the additives with the base polymer, the additives are susceptible to leaching, resulting in toxic effects on the plant (Hahladakis et al, 2018; Hermabessiere et al, 2017).…”