Waste Polystyrene Degradation in the World Oceans: Newly identified sources of Contamination

Abstract

Since 1970, lumps of plastic breakage into micro/nano pieces has been clearly shown a serious and large source of ocean pollution. To clarify in detail the course of this impact, thermoplastics were decomposed at natural conditions kinetically. And field surveys conducted on four thousand sand and water samples including these at deep-sea sites from around the world during the period, 2000 to 2015. All samples were found to contain styrene oligomers (SOs), that had been generated from drifting polystyrene (PS) degradation. Lumps of plastic not only break up into micro/nano-fragments but also degrade into their basic structure units of plastic. From 1950 to 2015, 4.2 billion metric tons (MT) of SOs were shown to be generated from drifting PS. The monomers are newly and highly significant source of pollution of marine ecosystem directly and global warming of planet and should be given the utmost serious attention.

Baleen–Plastic Interactions Reveal High Risk to All Filter-Feeding Whales from Clogging, Ingestion, and Entanglement

“…Finally, some trials used chemicals leached from plastics after sitting in glass beakers of heated (40-45 • C) water for >10 days. Although these chemical residues from mechanically broken/degraded plastics were not tested for final identification, we believe, based on published literature regarding similar plastics and their degradation [62,85], that these residues were primarily styrene monomers and dimers and polystyrene oligomers, although some samples may have included bisphenol A (BPA) as well. Small amounts (10-20 mL) of these residues were poured into the moving water of the flow tank so that their interaction with baleen tissue could be recorded and studied.…”

“…Although biological risks attributable to chemical residues from the production and degradation of plastics are not yet clearly known [62,85], these residues are also captured or adhere to the alpha-keratin surfaces of baleen tissue (Figure 9). We suggest that these as of yet unknown risks might be substantial if, like plastic pieces, such chemical residues are swallowed, incorporated into whale tissues, ultimately clogging or impairing the baleen filter's effectiveness, or otherwise affecting a whale's behavior and foraging efficiency.…”