Frequent observations of novel plastic forms in the Ariho River estuary, Honshu, Japan

Furukuma, Shunji; Ellrich, Julius A.; Ehlers, Sonja M.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157638

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These instances exemplify the impact of the anthroposphere on www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/jrph the biosphere, yet now, plastic overflow is beginning to merge with rocks and give rise to new stones (Hä llgren, 2019) in accordance with natural laws. These new stones, also called novel plastic forms (new plastic forms, Furukuma et al, 2022;De-la-Torre et al, 2021), are the result of humankind's activities, and include plastiglomerate, pyroplastic, plasticrust, anthropoquina, and plastitar (Corcoran et al, 2014;Turner et al, 2019;Gestoso et al, 2019;Fernandino et al, 2020;Domí nguez-Herná ndez et al, 2022). The Plasticene (Stager, 2011;Corcoran et al, 2014;Rangel-Buitrago et al, 2022), a substage of the Anthropocene Epoch, is occurring during the Great Acceleration (Steffen et al, 2015), and the anthroposphere, which generates vast quantities of plastics, is giving rise to the plastic ecology (Schaag, 2020) that is intermingled with the biosphere and lithosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophical Questions Concerning the Anthropocene and the Plasticene to ChatGPT and the Moderate Perspectives Derived from Their Responses

Furukuma¹

2023

JRPH

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ChatGPT, an AI (artificial intelligence) model developed by OpenAI was posed various philosophical questions about the Anthropocene and the Plasticene. The model opined that the naming of the Anthropocene holds significance, that the term Plasticene accurately encapsulates contemporary realities, that the expansion of the concept, such as through the lens of plastic ecology, will foster further study, that plastic rocks are important from the perspective of the Earth’s environment, and that although no one sees the Anthropocene in the traditional sense, future scientists may glean insights into the impacts of humankind’s activities from geological samples. From these moderate responses, we may have the utility to modify our opinions and create opportunities for novel anthropological questions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophical Questions Concerning the Anthropocene and the Plasticene to ChatGPT and the Moderate Perspectives Derived from Their Responses

Furukuma¹

2023

JRPH

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“…The burnt plastic pieces and combustion remnants resembled pyroplastic, seemingly burnt or melted brittle plastic of neutral color and geogenic appearance. , Pyroplastic is a newly recognized form of plastic in the Anthropocene that, so far, appears to enter the marine environment following large-scale fires (e.g., forest fires) and leakage of openly burned waste. − Since the first description of pyroplastic in 2019, − they, along with other forms of charred plastic, have been documented on beaches and waters across five continents (Africa, Asia, ,, Europe, − North America, ,, and South America) and have been found ingested by fish . Little is known about the fate of pyroplastic in the ocean, making the spill of burnt plastic from the M/V X-Press Pearl disaster a unique opportunity to monitor the weathering of time-stamped, geolocated pyroplastics and other plastic pieces when exposed to real-world conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire and Oil Led to Complex Mixtures of PAHs on Burnt and Unburnt Plastic during the M/V X-Press Pearl Disaster

et al. 2023

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In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl container ship burned for 2 weeks, leading to the largest maritime spill of resin pellets (nurdles). The disaster was exacerbated by the leakage of other cargo and the ship's underway fuel. This disaster affords the unique opportunity to study a time-stamped, geolocated release of plastic under real-world conditions. Field samples collected from beaches in Sri Lanka nearest to the ship comprised nurdles exposed to heat and combustion, burnt plastic pieces (pyroplastic), and oil-plastic agglomerates (petroplastic). An unresolved question is whether the 1600+ tons of spilled and recovered plastic should be considered hazardous waste. Due to the known formation and toxicity of combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we measured 20 parent and 21 alkylated PAHs associated with several types of spilled plastic. The maximum PAH content of the sampled pyroplastic had the greatest amount of PAHs recorded for marine plastic debris (199,000 ng/g). In contrast, the sampled unburnt white nurdles had two orders of magnitude less PAH content. The PAH composition varied between the types of spilled plastic and presented features typical of and conflicting with petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. Nevertheless, specific markers and compositional changes for burning plastics were identified, revealing that the fire was the main source of PAHs. Eight months after the spill, the PAH contents of sampled stray nurdles and pyroplastic were reduced by more than 50%. Due to their PAH content exceeding levels allowable for plastic consumer goods, classifying burnt plastic as hazardous waste may be warranted. Following a largely successful cleanup, we recommend that the Sri Lankans re-evaluate the identification, handling, and disposal of the plastic debris collected from beaches and the potential exposure of responders and the public to PAHs from handling it. The maritime disaster underscores pyroplastic as a type of plastic pollution that has yet to be fully explored, despite the pervasiveness of intentional and unintentional burning of plastic globally.

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New forms of particulate plastics in the anthropocene

Shruti,

Kutralam-Muniasamy,

Pérez-Guevara

2023

Earth-Science Reviews

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Frequent observations of novel plastic forms in the Ariho River estuary, Honshu, Japan

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Philosophical Questions Concerning the Anthropocene and the Plasticene to ChatGPT and the Moderate Perspectives Derived from Their Responses

Philosophical Questions Concerning the Anthropocene and the Plasticene to ChatGPT and the Moderate Perspectives Derived from Their Responses

Fire and Oil Led to Complex Mixtures of PAHs on Burnt and Unburnt Plastic during the M/V X-Press Pearl Disaster

New forms of particulate plastics in the anthropocene

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