A critical overview of the analytical approaches to the occurrence, the fate and the behavior of microplastics in the environment

Rocha-Santos, Teresa; Duarte, Armando C.

doi:10.1016/j.trac.2014.10.011

Cited by 770 publications

(296 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Quality assurance criteria are common in analytical chemistry or ecotoxicology [113,114] but are less self-evident for monitoring of plastic debris which is a relatively young field of science [115].…”

Section: Data and Knowledge Gaps With Respect To Further Model Develomentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Fate and Transport of Plastic Debris in Freshwaters: Review and Guidance

Kooi

Besseling

Kroeze

et al. 2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

109

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Contamination with plastic debris has been recognized as one of today's major environmental quality problems. Because most of the sources are land based, concerns are increasingly focused on the freshwater and terrestrial environment. Fate and transport models for plastic debris can complement information from measurements and will play an important role in the prospective risk assessment of plastic debris. We review the present knowledge with respect to fate and transport modeling of plastic debris in freshwater catchment areas, focusing especially on nano-and microplastics. Starting with a brief overview of theory and models for nonplastic particles, we discuss plastic-specific properties, processes, and existing mass-balance-, multimedia-, and spatiotemporally explicit fate models. We find that generally many theoretical and conceptual approaches from This chapter has been externally peer reviewed.The original version of this chapter was revised. An erratum to this chapter can be found at DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-61615-5_14. models developed earlier for other types of (low density) particles apply also to plastic debris. A unique feature of plastic debris, however, is its combination of high persistence, low density, and extremely wide size distribution, ranging from the nanometer to the >cm scale. This causes the system behavior of plastic debris to show a far wider variety than most other materials or chemicals. We provide recommendations for further development of these models and implications and guidance for how fate and transport models can be used in a framework for the tiered risk assessment of plastic debris.

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Section: Data and Knowledge Gaps With Respect To Further Model Develomentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Fate and Transport of Plastic Debris in Freshwaters: Review and Guidance

Kooi

Besseling

Kroeze

et al. 2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

109

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“…The polymer identification was carried out by comparing the acquired spectra with reference ones from both commercial and specifically developed spectral libraries, and by checking each result using the spectrum's peak by peak identification. This analytical approach was possible because almost all the single microparticles were in the range of 5000-300 µ m, therefore allowing visual sorting and manipulation [24,31]. Some polymers (e.g., polyethylene-terephthalate and polyester) were grouped in the μFT-IR results, as well as other natural/man-made materials (cellulose, wood, rayon).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea Water Contamination in the Vicinity of the Italian Minor Islands Caused by Microplastic Pollution

Lucia

Vianello

Camedda

et al. 2018

Water

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Abstract:The abundance and distribution of microplastics (MP) were evaluated in six "clean" sites (Italian minor islands) and in two "polluted" areas (near the mouth of two major Italian rivers). Samples of MP, plankton and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were collected using a manta trawl (MA) and a plankton net (WP2), both lined with a 333 µm mesh net. MP have been confirmed to be ubiquitous since they were found at each site, showing an average density of 0.3 ± 0.04 items/m 3 (values ranged from 0.641 to 0.119 ). When comparing the clean sites with the polluted ones, a significantly higher value of MP was found near the river mouths. The most common types of MP were synthetic filaments (50.24%), followed by fragments (30.39%), thin plastic films (16.98%) and spheres (2.39%). Infrared spectroscopy analysis highlighted that the most abundant polymers were polyethylene (PE-26%), polypropylene (PP-11%), polyethylene-terephthalate/polyester (PET/PEST-8%) and ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA-5%). Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides were detected in all the samples with a high variability among sites and depths. This study adds to the existing information on the distribution of contaminants across the Mediterranean Sea, and is useful to policy makers who wish to implement effective measures to reduce MP pollution.

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“…Thus, polymer types can have a great impact on the longevity and buoyancy of microplastics, thus affecting their fate in the environment. Polymer types are typically identified using FTIR and Raman spectrometry, and less often pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC/MS) is used [64,65]. Detailed reviews of the typically used techniques for the identification of microplastics were published recently [66][67][68].…”

Section: Polymer Types Foundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

Zhang

Xiong

2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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The presence of microplastics in marine environment is increasingly reported and has been recognized as an issue of emerging concern that might adversely affect wildlife and cause potential risk to the health of marine ecosystems. In addition, preliminary works demonstrated that microplastics are ubiquitously present in many inland waters with concentrations comparable or higher than those observed in marine environments. Asia is the most populous continent in the world, and most Asian countries are under rapid development while facing serious environmental problems. In this chapter, we review the available literature reporting on the occurrence of microplastics in inland waters in Asia. Limited works have provided basic information on the occurrence, distribution, and properties of microplastics in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries in Asia. Comparison with data from other regions worldwide suggests that microplastic pollution in inland waters in Asia can be more serious. These preliminary results call for more research efforts to better characterize the sources, fate, effects, and risks of microplastics in inland waters. Extensive and in-depth studies are urgently needed to bridge the knowledge gaps to enable a more comprehensive risk assessment of microplastics in inland waters and to support the development of policy addressing this issue.

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A critical overview of the analytical approaches to the occurrence, the fate and the behavior of microplastics in the environment

Cited by 770 publications

References 51 publications

Modeling the Fate and Transport of Plastic Debris in Freshwaters: Review and Guidance

Modeling the Fate and Transport of Plastic Debris in Freshwaters: Review and Guidance

Sea Water Contamination in the Vicinity of the Italian Minor Islands Caused by Microplastic Pollution

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

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