Microplastic resin pellets on an urban tropical beach in Colombia

Acosta-Coley, Isabel; Olívero-Verbel, Jesús

doi:10.1007/s10661-015-4602-7

Cited by 91 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…From abandoned gillnets hundreds of meters in length to plankton sized fragments, synthetic polymers have been extracted from remote corners of the Earth’s biosphere. Plastics have been quantified in marine environments [ 3 ] that include segments of the pelagic biome [ 4 ] coastal habitats [ 5 ], deep sea sediments [ 6 , 7 ], as well as freshwater lakes [ 8 , 9 ] and associated tributaries [ 10 ]. Particles have also turned up in Arctic sea ice [ 11 ], ambient air [ 12 ], and a plethora of biota such as seabirds [ 13 , 14 ], aquatic mammals [ 15 ], fish [ 16 ], and benthic invertebrates [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastic pollution has been well documented in natural environments, including the open waters and sediments within lakes and rivers, the open ocean and even the air, but less attention has been paid to synthetic polymers in human consumables. Since multiple toxicity studies indicate risks to human health when plastic particles are ingested, more needs to be known about the presence and abundance of anthropogenic particles in human foods and beverages. This study investigates the presence of anthropogenic particles in 159 samples of globally sourced tap water, 12 brands of Laurentian Great Lakes beer, and 12 brands of commercial sea salt. Of the tap water samples analyzed, 81% were found to contain anthropogenic particles. The majority of these particles were fibers (98.3%) between 0.1–5 mm in length. The range was 0 to 61 particles/L, with an overall mean of 5.45 particles/L. Anthropogenic debris was found in each brand of beer and salt. Of the extracted particles, over 99% were fibers. After adjusting for particles found in lab blanks for both salt and beer, the average number of particles found in beer was 4.05 particles/L with a range of 0 to 14.3 particles/L and the average number of particles found in each brand of salt was 212 particles/kg with a range of 46.7 to 806 particles/kg. Based on consumer guidelines, our results indicate the average person ingests over 5,800 particles of synthetic debris from these three sources annually, with the largest contribution coming from tap water (88%).

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Very few studies have investigated microplastics on Caribbean beaches (Ivar Do Sul and Costa, 2007;Monteiro et al, 2018). A study on Columbian beaches, found limited plastics (an average of 3 particles/m) (Acosta-Coley and Olivero-Verbel, 2015). Three earlier studies, focusing on plastic fragments and pellets, found relatively high levels, but in these studies no size definition is provided on the fragments identified (Debrot et al, 1999;Gregory, 1983;Wilber, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic pollution on Caribbean beaches in the Lesser Antilles

Bosker

Guaita

Behrens

2018

Marine Pollution Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Here we investigate microplastics contamination on beaches of four islands of the Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius and St. Martin/Maarten). These islands are close to the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, which contains high levels of microplastics. On average 261 ± 6 microplastics/kg of dry sand were found, with a maximum of 620 ± 96 microplastics on Grandes Cayes, Saint Martin. The vast majority of these microplastics (>95%) were fibers. Levels of microplastics differed among islands, with significantly lower levels found in St. Eustatius compared to the other Islands. No difference in microplastic levels was found between windward and leeward beaches. Our research provides a detailed study on microplastics on beaches in the Lesser Antilles. These results are important in developing a deeper understanding of the extent of the microplastic challenge within the Caribbean region, a hotspot of biodiversity.

show abstract

“…(For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article. )(Acosta-Coley and Olivero-Verbel, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%