| 1. |
- Arp, Hans Peter H., et al.
(författare)
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Weathering Plastics as a Planetary Boundary Threat : Exposure, Fate, and Hazards
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 55:11, s. 7246-7255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We described in 2017 how weathering plastic litter in the marine environment fulfils two of three criteria to impose a planetary boundary threat related to chemical pollution and the release of novel entities: (1) planetary-scale exposure, which (2) is not readily reversible. Whether marine plastics meet the third criterion, (3) eliciting a disruptive impact on vital earth system processes, was uncertain. Since then, several important discoveries have been made to motivate a re-evaluation. A key issue is if weathering macroplastics, microplastics, nanoplastics, and their leachates have an inherently higher potential to elicit adverse effects than natural particles of the same size. We summarize novel findings related to weathering plastic in the context of the planetary boundary threat criteria that demonstrate (1) increasing exposure, (2) fate processes leading to poorly reversible pollution, and (3) (eco)toxicological hazards and their thresholds. We provide evidence that the third criterion could be fulfilled for weathering plastics in sensitive environments and therefore conclude that weathering plastics pose a planetary boundary threat. We suggest future research priorities to better understand (eco)toxicological hazards modulated by increasing exposure and continuous weathering processes, to better parametrize the planetary boundary threshold for plastic pollution.
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| 2. |
- Jahnke, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Reducing Uncertainty and Confronting Ignorance about the Possible Impacts of Weathering Plastic in the Marine Environment
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2328-8930. ; 4:3, s. 85-90
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plastic in the global oceans fulfills two of the three conditions for pollution to pose a planetary boundary threat because it is causing planetary-scale exposure that is not readily reversible. Plastic is a planetary boundary threat if it is having a currently unrecognized disruptive effect on a vital Earth system process. Discovering possible unknown effects is likely to be aided by achieving a fuller understanding of the environmental fate of plastic. Weathering of plastic generates microplastic, releases chemical additives, and likely also produces nanoplastic and chemical fragments cleaved from the polymer backbone. However, weathering of plastic in the marine environment is not well understood in terms of time scales for fragmentation and degradation, the evolution of particle morphology and properties, and hazards of the chemical mixture liberated by weathering. Biofilms that form and grow on plastic affect weathering, vertical transport, toxicity, and uptake of plastic by marine organisms and have been underinvestigated. Laboratory studies, monitoring, and models weathering on plastic debris are needed to reduce uncertainty in hazard and risk assessments for known and field of the impact of suspected adverse effects. However, scientists and decision makers must also recognize that plastic in the oceans may have unanticipated effects about which we are currently ignorant. Possible impacts that are currently unknown can be confronted by vigilant monitoring of plastic in the oceans and discovery-oriented research related to the possible effects of weathering plastic.
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| 3. |
- Rummel, Christoph D., et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2328-8930. ; 4:7, s. 258-267
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the aquatic environment, microplastic (MP; <5 mm) is a cause of concern because of its persistence and potential adverse effects on biota. Studies of microlitter impacts are mostly based on virgin and spherical polymer particles as model MP. However, in pelagic and benthic environments, surfaces are always colonized by microorganisms forming so-called biofilms. The influence of such biofilms on the fate and potential effects of MP is not understood well. Here, we review the physical interactions of early microbial colonization on plastic surfaces and their reciprocal influence on the weathering processes and vertical transport as well as sorption and release of contaminants by MP. Possible ecological consequences of biofilm formation on MP, such as trophic transfer of MP particles and potential adverse effects of MP, are virtually unknown. However, evidence is accumulating that the biofilm-plastic interactions have the capacity to influence the fate and impacts of MP by modifying the physical properties of the particles. There is an urgent research need to better understand these interactions and increase the ecological relevance of current laboratory testing by simulating field conditions in which microbial life is a key driver of biogeochemical processes.
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