Toxicological effects of polystyrene microplastics on earthworm (Eisenia fetida)

Jiang, Xiaofeng; Chang, Yeqian; Zhang, Tong; Qiao, Yuhui; Klobučar, Göran; Li, Mei

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113896

Cited by 275 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Plastic pollution has been identified as a growing environmental and public health challenge. The sorption of carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals onto bulk plastics and micro-, meso-, and macro-plastics in the terrestrial environment and marine ecosystems has been widely reported [14] , [28] , [46] , [5] , [55] , [9] . However, the magnitude of this problem and the call for measures to address the worsening plastic pollution crises have grown only lately to a higher level of public consciousness, especially since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa

Benson

Fred-Ahmadu

Bassey³

et al. 2021

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

128

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The threat of plastic waste pollution in African countries is increasing exponentially since the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus infection as a pandemic. Fundamental to this growing threat are multiple factors, including the increased public consumption for single-use plastics, limited or non-existence of adequate plastic waste management infrastructures, and urbanisation. Plastics-based personal protective equipment including millions of surgical masks, medical gowns, face shields, safety glasses, protective aprons, sanitiser containers, plastics shoes, and gloves have been widely used for the reduction of exposure risk to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This paper estimates and elucidates the growing plethora of plastic wastes in African countries in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral fingerprint indicates that face masks were characterised by natural and artificial fibres including polyester fibres, polypropylene, natural latex resin. Our estimate suggests that over 12 billion medical and fabric face masks are discarded monthly, giving the likelihood that an equivalent of about 105,000 tonnes of face masks per month could be disposed into the environment by Africans. In general, 15 out of 57 African countries are significant plastic waste contributors with Nigeria (15%), Ethiopia (8.6%), Egypt (7.6%), DR Congo (6.7%), Tanzania (4.5%), and South Africa (4.4%) topping the list. Therefore, this expert insight is an attempt to draw the attention of governments, healthcare agencies, and the public to the potential risks of SARS-CoV-2-generated plastics (COVID plastic wastes), and the environmental impacts that could exacerbate the existing plastic pollution epidemic after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa

Benson

Fred-Ahmadu

Bassey³

et al. 2021

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

128

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These include blockages and internal abrasion of tissues, like digestive systems, can be linked to reduced energy intake and inflammation (Besseling et al, 2013;Cole et al, 2013;Wright, Thompson & Galloway, 2013;Guzzetti et al, 2018;Trevisan et al, 2019;Yuan et al, 2019;Revel et al, 2020b). Similarly, assessments made with terrestrial organisms have demonstrated that plastics particles can interact with certain species via ingestion (worms and gastropods) leading to mechanical alterations, such as gut obstruction, which can decrease food assimilation and result in growth inhibition (Huerta Lwanga et al, 2016;Rodriguez-Seijo et al, 2017;Zhu et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2019;Jiang et al, 2020). Presently, linkages to physical obstruction are implied and work needs to be conducted to demonstrate this relationship.…”

Section: Physical and Effects Of Micro(nano)plastics In The Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic additives: challenges in ecotox hazard assessment

Barrick

Champeau

Châtel

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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The risk of plastic debris, and specifically micro(nano)plastic particles, to ecosystems remains to be fully characterized. One particular issue that warrants further characterization is the hazards associated with chemical additives within micro(nano)plastic as they are not chemically bound within the polymers and can be persistent and biologically active. Most plastics contain additives and are therefore potential vectors for the introduction of these chemicals into the environment as they leach from plastic, a process that can be accelerated through degradation and weathering processes. There are knowledge gaps on the ecotoxicological effects of plastic additives and how they are released from parent plastic materials as they progressively fragment from the meso to micro and nano scale. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of the ecotoxicity of plastic additives and identifies research needs to characterize the hazard they present to exposed biota. The potential ecological risk of chemical additives is of international concern so key differences in governance between the European Union and New Zealand to appropriately characterize their risk are highlighted.

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“…Increasing numbers of ecotoxicological tests have recently been carried out to study the adverse effects of nanoplastics on species living in freshwater (Cui et al 2017; Pitt et al 2018; Yuan et al 2019), seawater (Gambardella et al 2018; Rist et al 2019; Zhao et al 2019), and soil (Jiang et al 2020; Lian et al 2020). Similar to microplastics, nanoplastics can affect the metabolism, fertility, and mortality of aquatic organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Meta‐analysis of Ecotoxicological Hazard Data for Nanoplastics in Marine and Freshwater Systems

Tong

Nowack

2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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There is emerging concern about the potential health and environmental impacts of nanoplastics in the environment. Information on exposure has been lacking, but a growing amount of ecotoxicological hazard data is now available, allowing a hazard assessment to be conducted for nanoplastics in freshwater and marine systems. Based on a critical evaluation of published studies and the construction of probabilistic species sensitivity distributions (PSSDs), we present a comprehensive, state-of-the-art understanding of nanoplastic ecotoxicity. Different freshwater and marine datasets were constructed based on different data quality levels, and for each of the datasets, PSSDs were built for both mass-and particle number-based concentrations. Predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) were then extracted from the PSSDs. We report PNECs at 99 and 72 μg L-1 , respectively, for the freshwater and marine dataset after the removal of data measured in the presence of sodium azide (NaN 3), which is considered to be a major interfering factor in the ecotoxicity testing of nanoplastics. By comparing the PNECs, we found that nanoplastics are less toxic than microplastics and many engineered nanomaterials. In addition, the effects of size and polymer type on toxicity were also statistically tested. We observed no significant difference in ecotoxicity for nanoplastics of different sizes, whereas polystyrene nanoplastics were significantly more toxic than all other tested nanoplastics. In conclusion, the results we present provide a comprehensive description of nanoplastic ecotoxicity based on current knowledge. The results constitute a fundamental step toward an environmental risk assessment for nanoplastics in freshwater and marine systems.

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Toxicological effects of polystyrene microplastics on earthworm (Eisenia fetida)

Cited by 275 publications

References 49 publications

COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa

COVID-19 pandemic and emerging plastic-based personal protective equipment waste pollution and management in Africa

Plastic additives: challenges in ecotox hazard assessment

A Meta‐analysis of Ecotoxicological Hazard Data for Nanoplastics in Marine and Freshwater Systems

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