Honeybees as active samplers for microplastics

Edo, Carlos; Fernández‐Alba, Amadeo R.; Vejsnæs, Flemming; Steen, J.J.M. van der; Fernández-Piñas, Francisca; Rosal, Roberto

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144481

Cited by 106 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Primary and secondary NMPs can be generated by a variety of industrial and environmental processes and practices. Once in the environment, they can accumulate in dust and soils and be suspended into the atmosphere [18,41,133,134]. MPs have been found in the atmosphere as fibres and fragments, the most frequently reported shapes, as well as spheres and films [40].…”

Section: Exposure Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradigms to assess the human health risks of nano- and microplastics

et al. 2021

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Human exposure to nano- and microplastics (NMPs) has raised major societal concerns, yet no framework to assess the risks of NMPs for human health exists. A substantial proportion of plastic produced worldwide is not properly disposed and persists in the environment for decades while degrading. Plastic degradation generates a size continuum of fragments, including nano- and microplastic particles, with numerous associated environmental pollutants and plastic additives, and microbial communities colonising their surfaces. The ubiquitous presence of NMPs, their availability for uptake by organisms and their potential to act as vectors for toxicants and pathogens render risk assessment a priority on the political agenda at the global level. We provide a new, fully integrated risk assessment framework tailored to the specificities of NMPs, enabling an assessment of current and future human health risks from NMPs. The framework consists of four novel paradigms to the traditional risk assessment methodology. These paradigms deal with techniques in NMP analysis, gaps in empirical data, theoretical and modelling approaches and stakeholder engagement. Within the proposed framework, we propose how we can use research experiences gained so far to carry out the different steps of the assessment process, and we define priorities for further research.

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Section: Exposure Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradigms to assess the human health risks of nano- and microplastics

et al. 2021

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“…However, MPs have recently been found in 12% of the honey, beer, milk, and refreshment samples collected in Ecuador, consisting primarily of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyacrylamide polymers [ 52 ]. In addition, MPs have recently been detected in honey bees collected from 19 different apiaries in Copenhagen, as well as suburban and rural areas, primarily as fragments (52%) and fibers (38%) [ 53 ]. Expectedly, the highest load was found in urban apiaries; however, more surprisingly, comparable numbers of MPs were also found in suburban and rural hives, which can be explained by the presence of urban settlements within worker bee foraging ranges and the ease with which small MPs can be dispersed by wind [ 53 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, MPs have recently been detected in honey bees collected from 19 different apiaries in Copenhagen, as well as suburban and rural areas, primarily as fragments (52%) and fibers (38%) [ 53 ]. Expectedly, the highest load was found in urban apiaries; however, more surprisingly, comparable numbers of MPs were also found in suburban and rural hives, which can be explained by the presence of urban settlements within worker bee foraging ranges and the ease with which small MPs can be dispersed by wind [ 53 ]. It is also still not clear whether the source of the MPs was due to beekeeping practice or contamination of the beekeeping material introduced into the hive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These sublethal effects of PS-MPs in bees were possibly caused by their aggregation and deterioration in the gut, as well as their subsequent interaction with the microbial population. Alternatively, given that the majority of MPs found in honey and honey bees were irregular fragments and fibers, it is unclear how environmentally representative concentrations, sizes, and shapes of MPs used in the study were [ 49 , 50 , 52 , 53 ]. These irregularly shaped materials are widespread in the environment, but they are less commonly considered [ 55 ] and they might be more toxic to bees than more spherical equivalents, as shown in previous studies with other invertebrates, such as daphnids [ 56 , 57 ] and aquatic insects [ 58 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are Honey Bees at Risk from Microplastics?

Naggar

Brinkmann

Sayes

et al. 2021

Toxics

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Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and persistent pollutants, and have been detected in a wide variety of media, from soils to aquatic systems. MPs, consisting primarily of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyacrylamide polymers, have recently been found in 12% of samples of honey collected in Ecuador. Recently, MPs have also been identified in honey bees collected from apiaries in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as nearby semiurban and rural areas. Given these documented exposures, assessment of their effects is critical for understanding the risks of MP exposure to honey bees. Exposure to polystyrene (PS)-MPs decreased diversity of the honey bee gut microbiota, followed by changes in gene expression related to oxidative damage, detoxification, and immunity. As a result, the aim of this perspective was to investigate whether wide-spread prevalence of MPs might have unintended negative effects on health and fitness of honey bees, as well as to draw the scientific community’s attention to the possible risks of MPs to the fitness of honey bees. Several research questions must be answered before MPs can be considered a potential threat to bees.

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“…Finally, they are easy insects to breed, having modest dietary needs and being almost ubiquitous [19]. Hence, honey bees (and their products) are reliable ecological detectors, and many studies have shown their feasibility as bioindicators of environmental pollution by pesticides [18][19][20], heavy metals [21][22][23][24], radionuclides [25,26], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [17,27], and other pollutants, such as brominated flame retardants [28], vehicle-derived ultrafine particulate [29], and microplastics [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Honey Bee: An Active Biosampler of Environmental Pollution and a Possible Warning Biomarker for Human Health

et al. 2021

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Member states of the European Union are required to ensure the initiation of monitoring programs to verify honey bee exposure to pesticides, where and as appropriate. Based on 620 samples of dead honey bees—42 of pollen, 183 of honey and 32 of vegetables—we highlighted the presence, as analyzed by liquid and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometric detection, of many active substances, mainly tau-fluvalinate, piperonyl butoxide, chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, permethrin and imidacloprid. Among the active substances found in analyzed matrices linked to honey bee killing incidents, 38 belong to hazard classes I and II, as methiocarb, methomyl, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and permethrin, thus representing a potential risk for human health. We have shown that, at different times between 2015 and 2020, during implementation of the Italian national guidelines for managing reports of bee colony mortality or depopulation associated with pesticide use, pesticide pollution events occurred that could raise concern for human health. Competent authorities could, as part of a One Health approach, exploit the information provided by existing reporting programs on honey bees and their products, in view of the close correlation to human health, animal health and ecosystem health.

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Honeybees as active samplers for microplastics

Cited by 106 publications

References 40 publications

Paradigms to assess the human health risks of nano- and microplastics

Paradigms to assess the human health risks of nano- and microplastics

Are Honey Bees at Risk from Microplastics?

The Honey Bee: An Active Biosampler of Environmental Pollution and a Possible Warning Biomarker for Human Health

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