Size distribution of stranded small plastic debris on the coast of Guangdong, South China

Fok, Lincoln; Cheung, Pui Kwan; Tang, Guang-Da; Li, Wai Chin

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.079

Cited by 163 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Several of the findings of our investigation are similar to those arising from studies of beaches in Atlantic Europe; specifically, there is a heterogeneous assortment of primary and secondary plastics and foams, coupled with a plastic pool that is dominated by polyolefins and with a relatively low abundance of higher density materials like PVC which, presumably, has a propensity for sedimentation (Turner, 2016;Fok et al, 2017;Massos and Turner, 2017). Unlike marine plastic surveys, however, there was an absence of primary production pellets and very little filamentous commercial fishing waste, like rope, netting, and cord, retrieved form the shores of the lake.…”

Section: Comparison With Beached Marine Plasticssupporting

confidence: 78%

Observational Study Unveils the Extensive Presence of Hazardous Elements in Beached Plastics from Lake Geneva

Filella

Turner

2018

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Over 3,000 samples of plastic litter have been retrieved from 12 pebble beaches around the shores of Lake Geneva. The plastic stock consisted of identifiable objects of various size and color, including bottles, bottle tops, cotton buds, pens, toys, and straws, an heterogeneous assortment of fragments whose origin was either discernible or unknown, and pieces or blocks of expanded polymer (polystyrene or polyurethane foam). Analysis of 670 samples by portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry revealed high concentrations of hazardous elements or compounds among many plastics. These included Cd, Hg, and Pb (with maximum concentrations of 6,760, 810, and 23,500 ppm, respectively) as stabilizers in PVC-based materials and/or brightly-colored sulfide or chromate pigments in primary and secondary plastics, and Br (with a maximum concentration of 27,400 ppm) as a proxy for brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in both plastics and foams. The abundance of hazardous elements in beached plastics that have been restricted or banned reflect the age and residence time of the plastic stock in the lake, coupled with a relatively high length of shoreline to surface area of the system. The migratability of hazardous elements from the polymeric matrix is likely to determine their environmental impacts and is recommended as a future area of research.

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Section: Comparison With Beached Marine Plasticssupporting

confidence: 78%

Observational Study Unveils the Extensive Presence of Hazardous Elements in Beached Plastics from Lake Geneva

Filella

Turner

2018

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…In the estuaries, the distribution of microplastics is affected by hydrodynamic forces (waves, tides, and currents) in aquatic systems [45,46]. Plastic particles repeatedly transport offshore and onshore, with some being trapped in enclosed waters [47,48]. An experiment was conducted on Wadahama Beach to study backwash process of plastics floats.…”

Section: Distribution Characteristics Of Microplastics Around the Yanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary, China

Zheng

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Eur

144

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Background: The Yangtze Estuary acts as gateways where microplastics transport from freshwater into marine environments, with one of the largest discharge volumes in the world. The occurrence of microplastics in surface water and sediments of the Yangtze Estuary has been reported. However, little is known about microplastics in and around Chongming Island in the estuary. In this study, the distribution of microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island was investigated and compared in different environmental medium.Results: Abundances of microplastics in surface water and sediments were in the ranges of 0-259 items m − 3 and 10-60 items kg − 1 dry weight, respectively. Microplastics were more abundant in the surface water of the Yangtze River shores than in the inland rivers (p < 0.01). Proportions in fiber form in surface water and sediment were 33% and 67%; and those in fragment form were 39% and 24%. Most particles (> 72%) were < 1 mm in the longest dimension; 65% were white and 30% were transparent. Of the 11 compositions identified, polyethylene, polypropylene, and α-cellulose predominated in both phases.Conclusion: This is the first study to focus on microplastics in inland watercourses on Chongming Island and along the Yangtze River's shores in both phases. There were differences between the island and estuary in composition and density due to the distinct vertical mixing processes. The in situ filtration of surface water (100 L) sampling method was well employed in various freshwater environments and free of plastic materials in front of the filter, analysis results of which provided an important baseline reference for evaluating microplastic pollution in the Yangtze Estuary. Publisher's NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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“…MPs have been detected in surface water (Zhao et al, 2015), water column (Nel and Froneman, 2015), and bottom sediments (Browne et al, 2011). Previous studies have showed that polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are the most frequently detected MPs in the aquatic environment (Hidalgo-Ruz et al, 2012;Fok et al, 2017). It is believed that MPs can accumulate various toxins and chemical pollutants and serve as a carrier for long-range transport (Guo et al, 2012;Turner and Holmes, 2015;Hueffer and Hofmann, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics

Zhang

2018

Environmental Pollution

976

305

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Microplastics and antibiotics are two classes of emerging contaminants with proposed negative impacts to aqueous ecosystems. Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics may result in their long-range transport and may cause compound combination effects. In this study, we investigated the adsorption of 5 antibiotics [sulfadiazine (SDZ), amoxicillin (AMX), tetracycline (TC), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and trimethoprim (TMP)] on 5 types of microplastics [polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)] in the freshwater and seawater systems. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis revealed that microplastics have different surface characterizes and various degrees of crystalline. Adsorption isotherms demonstrated that PA had the strongest adsorption capacity for antibiotics with distribution coefficient (K) values ranged from 7.36 ± 0.257 to 756 ± 48.0 L kg in the freshwater system, which can be attributed to its porous structure and hydrogen bonding. Relatively low adsorption capacity was observed on other four microplastics. The adsorption amounts of 5 antibiotics on PS, PE, PP, and PVC decreased in the order of CIP > AMX > TMP > SDZ > TC with K correlated positively with octanol-water partition coefficients (Log K). Comparing to freshwater system, adsorption capacity in seawater decreased significantly and no adsorption was observed for CIP and AMX. Our results indicated that commonly observed polyamide particles can serve as a carrier of antibiotics in the aquatic environment.

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Size distribution of stranded small plastic debris on the coast of Guangdong, South China

Cited by 163 publications

References 31 publications

Observational Study Unveils the Extensive Presence of Hazardous Elements in Beached Plastics from Lake Geneva

Observational Study Unveils the Extensive Presence of Hazardous Elements in Beached Plastics from Lake Geneva

Microplastics in surface water and sediments of Chongming Island in the Yangtze Estuary, China

Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics

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