UPM Institutional Repository

Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife.


Citation

Teuten, Emma L. and Saquing, Jovita M. and Knappe, Detlef R.U. and Barlaz, Morton A. and Jonsson, Susanne and Bjorn, Annika and Rowland, Steven J. and Thompson, Richard C. and Galloway, Tamara S. and Yamashita, Rei and Ochi, Daisuke and Watanuki, Yutaka and Moore, Charles and Viet, Pham Hung and Tana, Touch Seang and Prudente, Maricar and Boonyatumanond, Ruchaya and Zakaria, Mohamad P. and Akkhavong, Kongsap and Ogata, Yuko and Hirai, Hisashi and Iwasa, Satoru and Mizukawa, Kaoruko and Hagino, Yuki and Imamura, Ayako and Saha, Mahua and Takada, Hideshige (2009) Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364 (1526). pp. 2027-2045. ISSN 0962-8436

Abstract

Plastics debris in the marine environment, including resin pellets, fragments and microscopic plastic fragments, contain organic contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides (2,2′-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane, hexachlorinated hexanes), polybrominated diphenylethers, alkylphenols and bisphenol A, at concentrations from sub ng g–1 to µg g–1. Some of these compounds are added during plastics manufacture, while others adsorb from the surrounding seawater. Concentrations of hydrophobic contaminants adsorbed on plastics showed distinct spatial variations reflecting global pollution patterns. Model calculations and experimental observations consistently show that polyethylene accumulates more organic contaminants than other plastics such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride. Both a mathematical model using equilibrium partitioning and experimental data have demonstrated the transfer of contaminants from plastic to organisms. A feeding experiment indicated that PCBs could transfer from contaminated plastics to streaked shearwater chicks. Plasticizers, other plastics additives and constitutional monomers also present potential threats in terrestrial environments because they can leach from waste disposal sites into groundwater and/or surface waters. Leaching and degradation of plasticizers and polymers are complex phenomena dependent on environmental conditions in the landfill and the chemical properties of each additive. Bisphenol A concentrations in leachates from municipal waste disposal sites in tropical Asia ranged from sub µg l–1 to mg l–1 and were correlated with the level of economic development.


Download File

[img]
Preview
PDF (Abstract)
Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife.pdf

Download (147kB) | Preview

Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Subject: Plastic marine debris - Environmental aspects.
Subject: Marine debris.
Divisions: Faculty of Environmental Studies
DOI Number: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0284
Publisher: The Royal Society
Keywords: Marine plastic debris; Plastic resin pellet; Microplastics; Landfill leachate; Endocrine-disrupting chemicals; Persistent organic pollutants
Depositing User: Khairil Ridzuan Khahirullah
Date Deposited: 04 Jan 2012 00:35
Last Modified: 20 Jan 2016 03:15
Altmetrics: http://www.altmetric.com/details.php?domain=psasir.upm.edu.my&doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0284
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/17477
Statistic Details: View Download Statistic

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item