A systematic review of the literature on plastic pollution in the Laurentian Great Lakes and its effects on freshwater biota

Earn, Arielle; Bucci, Kennedy; Rochman, Chelsea M.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2020.11.001

Cited by 44 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Surface samples taken in the Great Lakes have shown high plastic concentrations, which are even higher than average concentrations in North Atlantic and South Pacific [ 21 – 23 ]. Of the Great Lakes systems, Lake Erie often reports some of the highest surface plastic concentrations [ 20 , 21 , 23 , 24 ]. Lake Erie is also an important source of fresh water for the region, and plastic has been found in tap water originating from the lake [ 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating terrain specific beaching within a lagrangian transport plastics model for Lake Erie

et al. 2021

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Mass estimates of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes based on surface samples differ by orders of magnitude from what is predicted by production and input rates. It has been theorized that a potential location of this missing plastic is on beaches and in nearshore water. We incorporate a terrain dependent beaching model to an existing hydrodynamic model for Lake Erie which includes three dimensional advection, turbulent mixing, density driven sinking, and deposition into the sediment. When examining parameter choices, in all simulations the majority of plastic in the lake is beached, potentially identifying a reservoir holding a large percentage of the lake’s plastic which in previous studies has not been taken into account. The absolute amount of beached plastic is dependent on the parameter choices. We also find beached plastic does not accumulate homogeneously through the lake, with eastern regions of the lake, especially those downstream of population centers, most likely to be impacted. This effort constitutes a step towards identifying sinks of missing plastic in large bodies of water.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating terrain specific beaching within a lagrangian transport plastics model for Lake Erie

et al. 2021

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“…Microplastics exist in a near‐infinite number of formulations, which need to be carefully considered when designing an experiment to investigate effects. The characteristics of microplastics that will drive whether or not they cause an effect include the size distribution of particles (smaller particles are more harmful than larger particles [Earn et al 2020]), shape (fibers are more harmful than fragments, which are more harmful than spheres [Gray and Weinstein 2017]), polymer type (e.g., PVC is more harmful than polyethylene and polypropylene [Lithner et al 2011]), additives (newly purchased plastic products may be more harmful than preproduction pellets because of additives such as flame retardants and plasticizers in the finished product [Lithner et al 2011]), and environmental contaminants (environmentally sourced microplastics are more harmful than preconsumer pellets [Rochman et al 2014]). The term “microplastics” refers to a suite of environmental contaminants with different sources, characteristics, and environmental and biological fates.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, more studies have begun teasing apart the effects of microplastics with regard to their shape, size, and associated chemicals. For instance, studies have shown that irregularly shaped particles are more harmful than spherical particles (Gray and Weinstein 2017), that smaller particles are more harmful than larger particles (Earn et al 2020), and that the type of plastic also affects the type and severity of effect (Lagarde et al 2016). In addition, studies have shown that the type and severity of effects are different or exacerbated when the organism is exposed to environmental microplastics with sorbed contaminants compared to preproduction, or “virgin,” microplastics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts to Larval Fathead Minnows Vary between Preconsumer and Environmental Microplastics

Bucci

Bikker

Stevack

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Microplastics are a complex suite of contaminants varying in size, shape, polymer, and associated chemicals and are sometimes referred to as a “multiple stressor.” Still, the majority of studies testing hypotheses about their effects use commercially bought microplastics of a uniform size, shape, and type. We investigated the effects of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics purchased as preproduction pellets (referred to as “preconsumer”) and a mixture of polyethylene and polypropylene collected from the environment (environmental microplastic). Embryo‐stage fathead minnows were exposed to either the physical plastic particles and their leachates or the chemical leachates alone at an environmentally relevant (280 particles/L) or high (2800 particles/L) concentration for 14 d. The effects of microplastics differed by polymer type and presence of environmental contaminants, and effects can be driven by the physical particles and/or the chemical leachates alone. Larvae exposed to preconsumer polyethylene experienced a decrease in survival, length, and weight, whereas preconsumer polypropylene caused an increase in weight. Environmental microplastics caused a more drastic increase in length and weight and almost 6 times more deformities as the preconsumer microplastics. Although preconsumer microplastics caused effects only when organisms were exposed to both the particles and the chemical leachates, the environmental microplastics caused effects when organisms were exposed to the chemical leachates alone, suggesting that the mechanism of effects are context‐dependent. The present study provides further support for treating microplastics as a multiple stressor and suggests that testing for effects with pristine microplastics may underestimate the true effects of microplastics in the environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:858–868. © 2021 SETAC

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“…MPs 随自然因素的变化或人为活动进入水环境、土壤环境和大气环境中, 并在环境介质和生物体中迁移和转化. 水环境中 MPs 主要来源于市政排水管网、家庭活动、航运、旅游业等 [33,34] , COVID-19 的大流行意外增加了 MPs 的产生, 其中机洗合成纺织品是 MPs 的最大来源 [33,35,36] . 陆地环境中的 MPs 主要来自农业塑料薄膜残留、堆肥、污泥的应用、废水灌溉和汽车轮胎碎片等, 此外, 自地表径流和大气沉降也有贡献.…”

Section: 微塑料赋存现状及其来源简介unclassified

Research progress on environmental occurrence of microplastics and their interaction mechanism with organic pollutants

Liu¹,

Sun²,

Liu³

et al. 2021

Sci. Sin.-Chim

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：Microplastics are ubiquitous in various environmental media on a global scale, and can adsorb co-existing pollutants, especially organic pollutants, thus changing the environmental behavior and toxicity of pollutants; they can also promote the migration of pollutants in different media through adsorption/desorption. Influencing factors and mechanisms of adsorption between microplastics and organic pollutants are necessary information for a comprehensive assessment of the environmental risks of microplastics and organic pollutants. Due to the complexity of composition, structure and surface characteristics of microplastics and the diversity of co-existing organic pollutants, the interaction between them is very complex. Based on a review of the relevant literatures in recent years, the authors systematically summarized the current status of occurrence and migration of microplastic in environmental media, the influencing factors of microplastic adsorption of organic pollutants and their interaction mechanisms, with a view to providing useful references for the in-depth understanding of the environmental behavior and ecological risks of microplastics.

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A systematic review of the literature on plastic pollution in the Laurentian Great Lakes and its effects on freshwater biota

Cited by 44 publications

References 70 publications

Incorporating terrain specific beaching within a lagrangian transport plastics model for Lake Erie

Incorporating terrain specific beaching within a lagrangian transport plastics model for Lake Erie

Impacts to Larval Fathead Minnows Vary between Preconsumer and Environmental Microplastics

Research progress on environmental occurrence of microplastics and their interaction mechanism with organic pollutants

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