A roadmap for a Plastisphere Dąbrowska, Agnieszka
Marine pollution bulletin,
06/2021, Volume:
167
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The constantly growing production of synthetic materials and their presence in the environment gradually transform our Blue Planet into the Plastic One. Microplastics (MPs) enlarge significantly ...their surface during fragmentation processes. Undoubtedly, nanoplastics (NPs), emerging contaminants, and the Plastisphere, the total available surface of debris, are currently on the edge of science. Although a few research are dedicated to the analysis of MPs and NPs from the physical and chemical point of view, there is a lack of the correlation between the material characterization and the microbiological data. The ecological approach, covering the description of numerical antibiotic or metal resistance bacteria, dealing with toxicological issues or biodegradation, is of great importance. This paper creates the bridge between the material science approach and the eighth continent (as sometimes Plastisphere is called). It points out that the Plastisphere significance will grow within the coming years and it should not be regarded as one ecological niche, but a set of different ones. As the properties mainly depend on the surface morphology, its numerical characterization will be the base for the classification purposes to better describe and model this phenomenon. Apart from concerning the currently important issues of NPs and the Plastisphere, this paper presents the emerging area of research namely the numerical approach to their characterization. This proposal of an interdisciplinary approach to the classification of the Plastisphere's types might be interesting for the members of different scientific communities: nanotechnology, material science and engineering, chemistry, physics, ecology, microbiology, marine microplastics or picture analysis.
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•Presents an entirely new and important area of research•Combines the biological, chemical and physical approach•Introduces the numerical modelling of the surfaces (Plastisphere)•Short-summary of the state-of-art and the original perspective
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella, Lepidoptera) is a common insect species and well-known, widespread kitchen pest. This paper reports the results of their interaction with silicone baking ...moulds and the evidence for synthetic material decomposition. The obtained fibres exhibited a high level of purification and were characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The reported interaction should be further studied from the biological perspective, as it can be crucial for the remediation of silicones or other synthetic polymers in the environment.
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•The first evidence of the Plodia interpunctella interaction with the silicone moulds.•The fibrous powder is a product of insects interaction with silicone.•The natural decomposition of synthetic materials is confirmed by Raman Spectroscopy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The aim of this paper is to present a short practical introduction to Raman spectroscopy for all non-specialist in chemistry and physics who are working with (marine) microplastics and nanoplastics. ...The continually growing polymer presence in the global ocean system constitutes a crucial interdisciplinary issue. To adequately address the problem of microplastics impact on the marine environment, its ecotoxicity, fate, sources, accumulation and weathering, one should characterise the debris found. In order to identify and describe the samples, spectroscopy techniques are crucial as they enable qualitative as well as quantitative analyses. This work provides the shortlist of good practices developed during own research, method potential and drawbacks, case studies as examples, simple explanation of primary polymer spectra. Finally, some matters on the edge and future directions are shortly mentioned. The selected proper results of measurements of diversified types of samples are provided to better illustrate the problem.
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•Comprehensive review and introduction to microplastics.•Combines the biological, chemical and physical approach.•The short practical introduction to Raman spectroscopy for all non-specialist.•The manual of Raman spectroscopy of microplastics.•The numerical approach to Raman signal and future trends.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Plant-oil-based fibre composites for boat hulls are an interesting and growing group of materials. Although many problems are to be tackled at different stages of their preparation, the green ...composites are already successfully commercialised. Within this paper, the most important chemical and physical characteristics of both natural fibres and sustainable resins are provided in the form of a comprehensive review. Finally, the complex issue of interactions filler-matrix is considered.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of this short paper is to report the presence of primary and secondary microplastics in Svalbard and surrounding waters. The sampling and monitoring were done during the AREX 2017 polar ...expedition and included the Spitsbergen (Longyearbyen, Pyramiden) and western fjords, in particular Isfjorden, Kongsfjorden. Moreover, the unique scientific trawls were carried out in Raudefjorden at the very north coast of Spitsbergen. Finally, the plastic tide effects were confirmed at the Prins Karl Forland Island.
The increasing amount of marine microplastics and nanoplastics is due to primary (P-MPs) and secondary sources (S-MPs). Among small P-MPs and fibres from textiles, nurdles or industrial dust, the ...microbeads from cosmetics (peelings, scrubs) are dominant. The polyethylene and polypropylene debris, already <5 mm, enlarge Plastisphere and have a complex influence on environmental processes. Fortunately, the situation has changed with the limitation of synthetic materials in scrubs in recent years. This paper summarizes the six years of studies (2015–2021) on microplastics in cosmetics available on the Polish market. It focuses on those still available and presents the potential of Raman spectroscopy for the efficient qualitative and quantitative characterization of those materials. Finally, surface morphology's vital role in microplastics' general behaviour is underlined. The SEM/EDX and numerical modelling enables a more detailed description of particles.
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•Raman spectroscopy of microbeads in cosmetics currently available on the Polish market.•The underlined crucial role of morphology in sorptive properties.•SEM/EDX evidence of diversified morphology and composition of microbeads.•Numerical description and classification of primary MPs.•PE quantitative characterization.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Microplastic occurrence and composition were investigated along the Polish coast (southern Baltic Sea) on 12 beaches differing in terms of intensity of their touristic exploitation, urbanisation and ...sediment characteristics. Their mean concentrations varied between 76 and 295 items per kg dry sediment. Fibres and plastic fragments were the dominant microplastic types. Overall, no relationship was found between their concentrations and sediment characteristics. Fine sediments were not identified as microplastic pollution traps. The highest microplastic concentrations were recorded at some urban beaches indicating that population density and the level of coastal infrastructure development are important factors affecting microplastic pollution level on beaches. On the other hand, microplastic concentrations in national parks did not differ substantially from the other beaches. Our results suggest that sediment accumulation processes may exceed microplastic accumulation, and overcome the effect of tourism and/or urbanisation, highlighting the role of the beach hydrodynamic status in structuring beach microplastic pollution.
•Microplastic contamination of urban beaches and national parks does not differ substantially.•Microplastic concentrations are not related to the sediment grain size.•Sediment accumulation processes may overcome the effect of tourism and/or urbanisation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This paper summarizes the field studies on marine microplastics (MPs) carried out in the autumn season in four various localisations within three ports chosen at the Mediterranean Sea near the French ...Riviera and the West Coast of Italy (within the Ligurian Sea). It considers the transport problem and the fate of the MPs introduced to the sea by analysing beach debris found on the shore after the stormy weather. Monitored ports included Saint-Tropez, Portoferraio and Porto Ercole, in which two different places were monitored. The aim is to approach the plastic tide phenomena by concentrating on a selected fraction of all MPs presented on the seashore. The final identification of debris was performed using Raman spectroscopy, providing a high-resolution signal. The PE, PP and PS contents were compared as the most frequent and representative polymers. Finally, we tackle the pending issue of the compound leakage from the MPs taking the environmentally aged particles from Portoferraio for further laboratory experiments and discuss an innovative approach with a low detection limit based on the electrochemical methods.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The purpose of the paper is to discuss the problems arising from the application of sub-clause 20.1 of the FIDIC contract templates in the civil and common law countries. For these considerations, ...the author chose the red and yellow book editions of 1999 in unmodified versions. The paper tries to determine whether it is possible to implement the sub-clause in their original wording in the above-mentioned legal systems. Another aspect under the scrutiny of the author is the legal nature of provisions of 20.1 sub-clause which concern, in particular, the issues related to the 28-day deadline for filing a claim and releasing the contracting authority from the obligation to provide compensation as a result of the Contractor's failure to meet the indicated deadline. The research was conducted using the legal-comparative method. With regard to the civil law system, the analysis concerned the compliance of the sub-clause provisions with mandatory standards, in particular Article 119 of the Civil Code, and Article 353¹ in conjunction with Article 58 of the Civil Code. When it comes to the common law jurisdiction, the study concerned the consequences of failure to comply with the obligation imposed by the sub-clause on the Contractor in the light of the prevention principle and on the basis of praemia that law does not arise from injustice. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that sub-clause 20.1 of the FIDIC contract terms requires prior modifications both in civil and common law countries and adaptation to the requirements of the law in force in the country in which it is to be implemented.
Plastic litter is widespread on our planet and is recognized as a contaminant of high concern. Plastic ingestion and retention in gills were studied in two key Baltic fish species: herring (Clupea ...harengus L.) and cod (Gadus morhua L.). In total, 183 fish from the southern Baltic Sea were analysed. Plastic litter was found in digestive tracts of 12.7 and 14.8% of herrings and cods, respectively. In addition, gills were shown to constitute an important transfer route of plastic to cod (9.9% of cods) but not to herring thus likely reflecting species-specific differences in fish lifestyles and/or water filtering capacity. No more than one plastic item per individual was found except for three fish with two items in their stomachs. Dominant microplastics (<5 mm) (MPs) (88.6% of all items) composed of irregular fragments, fibres and foils (61.3%, 25.8% and 12.9% of all MPs, respectively) were followed by meso- (5–25 mm) and macro-plastics (>25 mm) (5.7% each of all items). Plastic ingestion and retention in gills did not affect fish body condition assessed by Fulton's K index, although herrings that ingested plastic particles beyond the microplastic size range (i.e. >5 mm) were characterized by the lowest condition indices.
All plastic items recovered from fish exhibited clear signs of weathering and surface extended due to their roughness and fragmentation which may enhance both sorption properties for chemical compounds and/or their leaching. Nevertheless, chemical contaminant levels in herring muscles were not different than in a plastic-free group.
The vast majority of fibres found in fish was identified as air-borne or procedural contamination and were excluded from further analyses. In addition, the vessel's paint dust found in fish stressed the need for strict quality assurance also during fish sampling.
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•Microplastics dominate over other plastic size fractions in fish stomachs and gills.•Similar plastic ingestion frequency in pelagic and demersal fish•Plastic retention on gills of demersal species•Body condition and contaminant levels unrelated to plastic occurrence in fish•Strict quality assurance during both laboratory and field work is needed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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