Pollutants in Plastics within the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Abstract

Here we report concentrations of pollutants in floating plastics from the North Pacific accumulation zone (NPAC). We compared chemical concentrations in plastics of different types and sizes, assessed ocean plastic potential risks using sediment quality criteria, and discussed the implications of our findings for bioaccumulation. Our results suggest that at least a fraction of the NPAC plastics is not in equilibrium with the surrounding seawater. For instance, "hard plastic" samples had significantly higher PBDE concentrations than "nets and ropes" samples, and 29% of them had PBDE composition similar to a widely used flame-retardant mixture. Our findings indicate that NPAC plastics may pose a chemical risk to organisms as 84% of the samples had at least one chemical exceeding sediment threshold effect levels. Furthermore, our surface trawls collected more plastic than biomass (180 times on average), indicating that some NPAC organisms feeding upon floating particles may have plastic as a major component of their diets. If gradients for pollutant transfer from NPAC plastic to predators exist (as indicated by our fugacity ratio calculations), plastics may play a role in transferring chemicals to certain marine organisms.

Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal

“…Microplastics absorb and concentrate hydrophobic pollutants present in sea water at very low concentrations and these can be bioavailable to the ingesting species. Over 660 species (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2012), ranging from seabirds, fish, bivalves to the zooplanktons at the bottom of the marine food chain, are known to be affected by plastic debris (Ivar do Sul and Costa, 2014; Van Cauwenberghe and Janssen, 2014) and there is credible evidence of the bioavailability of pollutants concentrated in the plastic (Heskett et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2017) to the ingesting organisms. Potential trophic transfer of the plastics and pollutants along the food chain (Au et al, 2017) and their potential tainting of human seafood (Santillo et al, 2017) are particularly serious concerns.…”

Textile waste and microplastic induce activity and development of unique hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterial communities

“…Defluviimonas alba was isolated from an oilfield water sample suggesting that it has a potential for degradation of hydrocarbon similarly to Defluviimonas pyrenivorans 37 , however not tested for hydrocarbon hydrolysis 38 . Bowmanella pacifica was identified during a search for pyrene-degrading bacteria 39 , which is a PAH highly concentrated in certain plastics 40 . Bowmanella spp.…”

Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

“…Their filter feeding behaviour, i.e. either skim feeding or lunge feeding, make them particularly susceptible to accidently consuming small synthetic particles that may pose a chemical threat to them (Fossi et al 2014;Chen et al 2017).…”

“…These large accumulation zones formed within subtropical gyres are well known for their high levels of plastic pollution (Lebreton et al 2012;Eriksen et al 2014;Lebreton et al 2018). However, the ecological implications of such pollution hotspots remain poorly assessed (Chen et al 2017). For instance, no dedicated aerial surveys have been undertaken to record marine mammals within these areas and/or identify local impacts of plastic debris on vertebrates.…”