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Advanced Studies in Microplastic Pollution

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8141

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Dr. Diego Romero

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Guest Editor

Department of Socio-Health Sciences, University of Murcia, 30003 Murcia, Spain
Interests: wildlife; heavy metals; aquaculture; bioassays; biomarkers; marine pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Pilar Muñoz

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Espinardo, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: bioaccumulation; average daily intake; heavy metal

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, microplastics (MPs) are considered widespread contaminants, and represent one of the main threats to marine organisms. This is viewed with particular concern by scientists, governments, and society alike, so their study is essential for the better management of marine ecosystems and, thus, for public health.

MPs are found in fish, crustaceans, bivalves, salt, bottled water, etc., and the particles pass from foodstuffs to the gastrointestinal systems of people around the world. In addition to the direct effect, MPs also act as vectors for other pollutants such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and microorganisms. In fact, some years ago the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identified MPs and nanoplastics as a new emerging risk; however, the lack of scientific information available in this regard was evident.

In recent years, many studies have been carried out on MPs, and the conclusions indicate a possible relationship between these pollutants and inflammatory lesions, neurodegenerative diseases, immune disorders and cancer, which generates great uncertainties because knowledge of these effects on human health is limited.

In this Special Issue, we encourage the submission of papers focused on field studies, bioassays and epidemiological studies that help to better understand MPs and their effects.

Dr. Diego Romero
Dr. Pilar Muñoz
Guest Editors

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Keywords

food
disease
human
microplastic
pollutant
public health
toxicity vector

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1042 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Adsorption Affinity of Estrogens on LDPE and PET Microplastics Exposed to Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents

by Noura Al-Jandal, Abdulaziz AlKhubaizi, Talat Saeed and Mariam Hajeyah

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 16027; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316027 - 30 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1421

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are among the most common pollutants in the environment. Because of their small size, availability, and similarity to natural foods, they are commonly ingested by marine organisms. They can cause health problems in living organisms due to their bioaccumulation potential. It is, therefore, unknown whether endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in particular estrogens, are capable of adhering to the diverse types of MPs found in water. Two MP polymers (low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethene terephthalate (PET)) that could pose a threat to fish were tested for estrogen adsorption. The adsorption capacity of MP pellets was studied for 30 days in the effluent and influent of a wastewater treatment-plant. A laboratory simulation was conducted to validate the field and laboratory findings. We found that the concentrations of five types of estrogen ((diethylstilbestrol (DES), estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2)) were higher in the influent than the effluent streams. LDPE and PET MPs exposed to influent water in the laboratory had higher estrogen levels than wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) pellets. The PET pellets showed the highest adsorption affinity to EE2, while the LDPE pellets showed the highest affinity to E2. As a result, this study provided baseline data to investigate the estrogen adsorption capacity in MPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Microplastic Pollution)

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17 pages, 4313 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Biofilms on Trace Metal Adsorption on Plastics in Freshwater Systems

by Zhilin Liu, Tanveer M. Adyel, Zhiyuan Wang, Jun Wu, Jianchao Liu, Lingzhan Miao and Jun Hou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 13752; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113752 - 22 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1671

Abstract

The formation of plastisphere on plastics and their potential impact on freshwater ecosystems have drawn increasing attention. However, there is still limited information about the effects of plastisphere on the heavy metal adsorption capacity and the related mechanism of plastic debris in different freshwaters. Herein, the trace metal adsorption capacity, kinetics and adsorption mechanisms of virgin and biofilm-covered plastic debris were investigated. Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic debris were placed in three freshwaters (Xuanwu Lake, Donghu Lake and the Qinhuai River) for 45 days to incubate biofilms. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to compare the adsorption processes of trace metal on virgin and biofilm-covered plastics. Results showed that biofilms increase the adsorption of metals on plastics, and the adsorption isotherms were well fitted by the Langmuir model. Furthermore, the adsorption capacities for lead (Pb(II)) were higher than that of cadmium (Cd(II)) and zinc (Zn(II)), with 256.21 and 277.38 μg/g (Pb(II)) adsorbed in biofilm-covered PP and PET, respectively, in Xuanwu Lake. The adsorption kinetics of metals on plastic debris were significantly affected by the biofilms, by switching the intraparticle diffusion for virgin plastic debris to film diffusion for the biofilm-covered plastic debris. Moreover, the complexation of functional groups within the biofilms might mainly contribute to the increases of metal adsorption, involving the participation of oxygen and nitrogen groups. Overall, these results suggested that biofilms reinforce the potential role of plastics as a carrier of trace metals in freshwaters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Microplastic Pollution)

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12 pages, 1905 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microplastic Contamination in Urban, Farmland and Desert Environments along a Highway in Southern Xinjiang, China

by Wenfeng Li, Shuzhi Wang, Rehemanjiang Wufuer, Jia Duo and Xiangliang Pan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 8890; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158890 - 22 Jul 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2288

Abstract

The different types of microplastics (MPs), including debris, fibers, particles, foams, films and others, have become a global environmental problem. However, there is still a lack of research and understanding of the pollution characteristics and main causes of MPs in the arid region of Xinjiang, China. In this survey, we focused on the occurrence and distribution of MPs in urban, farmland and desert areas along a highway in the survey area. Our results showed that the main types of MPs were polypropylene (PP) flakes, polyethylene (PE) films and both PE and PP fragments and fibers. The abundance levels of MPs in street dust of Korla, Alar and Hotan districts equaled 804, 307 and 1526 particles kg⁻¹, respectively, and were positively correlated with the urban population. In farmland areas, there were only two types of MPs (films and fibers), of which the film particles dominated and accounted for 91% of the total on the average. The highest abundance rate of MPs reached 7292 particles kg⁻¹ in the desert area along the highway. The minimum microplastic particle sizes were 51.8 ± 2.2 μm in urban street dust samples, 54.2 ± 5.3 μm in farmland soil samples and 67.8 ± 8.4 μm in samples from along the desert highway. Particle sizes < 500 μm were most common and accounted for 48–91% of the total in our survey. The abundance and shape distribution of the MPs were closely related to the different types of human activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Microplastic Pollution)

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11 pages, 2004 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chronic Microplastic Exposure and Cadmium Accumulation in Blue Crabs

by María Hernández-López and Diego Romero

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5631; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095631 - 05 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2035

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems are severely threatened by the presence of a multitude of pollutants. In seas and oceans, the amount of plastics continues to increase and there is great concern about toxic element accumulation. Specifically, cadmium (Cd), a toxic metal, is highly relevant to public health safety due to its ability to accumulate in the internal tissues of crustaceans; likewise, microplastics (MPs) are emerging as pollutants capable of causing alterations in marine organisms. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the accumulation and distribution of Cd in the tissue of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) chronically exposed to MPs (25 μg L⁻¹). In total, 24 crabs were exposed in water for 118 days to 2 types of MPs (virgin and oxidised). During the final 21 days of the experiment, the crabs were fed with tuna liver, a viscera in which Cd accumulates (mean of 7.262 µg g⁻¹). The presence of MPs caused no changes in Cd concentrations in either the haemolymph or tissues (hepatopancreas, gills, and muscles) of the crabs, although for oxidised MPs, there was a positive correlation between Cd concentrations in the hepatopancreas and muscles, a relevant finding for food safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Microplastic Pollution)

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