Nanoplastics (NPs) are released into surface water due to the widespread use of plastics, undergoing aging from environmental and human factors that alter their physical and chemical characteristics. However, detecting NPs remains challenging, resulting in limited research on their behavior in surface water and their removal efficiency by drinking water treatment. This study utilizes palladium-doped polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) as tracers to enable precise detection and quantification through ICP-MS, thereby overcoming the limitations of conventional detection methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Toxicol Chem
September 2024
Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) contain complex mixtures of chemicals and release them to the environment, and potential toxic effects of these chemicals still need to be characterized. We used a standardized surrogate for TRWP, cryogenically milled tire tread (CMTT), to isolate and evaluate effects of tire-associated chemicals. We examined organic chemical mixtures extracted and leached from CMTT for the toxicity endpoints genotoxicity, estrogenicity, and inhibition of bacterial luminescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
October 2024
This work presents the changing abundance of surface functional groups (SFGs) on polystyrene (PS) upon weathering within one or a few molecular monolayers from a molecular point of view. PS particles were aged by exposing it to a gas flow of typically (5 %) O in O (PS), UV radiation using a solar simulator under controlled conditions in the laboratory (PS) and to the water/air interface immerged in a freshwater lake for 2 months (PS). The chemical composition of the interface of weathered, compared to pristine (virgin or PS) material was established using a titration technique that probed the chemical composition of the molecular interface of the polymer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHumans are chronically exposed to airborne microplastics (MPs) by inhalation. Various types of polymer particles have been detected in lung samples, which could pose a threat to human health. Inhalation toxicological studies are crucial for assessing the effects of airborne MPs and for exposure-reduction measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPetroleum-based microplastic particles (MPs) are carriers of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic environments, influencing the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance. This research characterized MP and natural organic particle (NOP) bacterial communities and resistomes in the Tyrrhenian Sea, a region impacted by plastic pollution and climate change. MP and NOP bacterial communities were similar but different from the free-living planktonic communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF-Nitrosamines are potential human carcinogens frequently detected in natural and engineered aquatic systems. This study sheds light on the role of carbonyl compounds in the formation of -nitrosamines by nitrosation of five secondary amines via different pathways. The results showed that compared to a control system, the presence of formaldehyde enhances the formation of -nitrosamines by a factor of 5-152 at pH 7, depending on the structure of the secondary amines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastics, especially aged microplastics can become vectors of metals from environment to organisms with potential negative effects on food chain. However, a few studies focused on the bioavailability of adsorbed metals and most studies related to aged microplastics used artificial method that cannot entirely reflect actual aging processes. In this study, virgin polystyrene was aged by ozone (PS-O), solar simulator (PS-SS) and lake (PS-lake) to investigate adsorption of Cu by virgin, artificially and naturally aged microplastics and subsequent release in simulated gastrointestinal fluids (SGF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
February 2024
Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) resulting from tire abrasion while driving raise concerns due to their potential contribution to aquatic toxicity. Our study aimed to assess cryogenically milled tire tread (CMTT) particle toxicity, used as a proxy for TRWP, and associated chemicals to fish using two Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) cell lines representing the gill (RTgill-W1) and the intestinal (RTgutGC) epithelium. CMTT toxicity was evaluated through several exposure pathways, including direct contact, leaching, and digestion, while also assessing the impact of particle aging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDirect and indirect photolysis are important abiotic processes in aquatic environments through which plastics can be transformed physically and chemically. Transport of biodegradable plastics in water is influenced by vertical mixing and turbulent flow, which make biodegradable plastics remain susceptible to sunlight and photolysis despite their high density. In general, biodegradable plastics are composed of ester containing polymers (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) comprise several different chemical families used mainly as additives in many everyday products. SVOCs can be released into the air as aerosols and deposit on particulate matter during use by dispersion, evaporation, or abrasion. Phthalates are SVOCs of growing concern due to their endocrine-disrupting effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFN-nitrosamines are formed during different industrial processes and are of significant concern due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. This study reports concentrations of N-nitrosamines in eight different industrial wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland and the variability of their abundance. Only four N-nitrosamines species, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDPA) and N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR) were above the limit of quantification in this campaign.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress can contribute to the development of diseases, and may originate from exposures to toxicants commonly found in air pollution and cigarette smoke such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Yet, associations between these exposures and oxidative stress biomarkers are poorly characterized. We report here novel associations between 14 exposure biomarkers of PAHs and VOCs, and two oxidative stress biomarkers; 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8-isoprostaglandin F (8-isoprostane) in urine obtained from smokers participating in an ongoing clinical study (ESTxENDS, NCT03589989).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNonmycorrhizal root-colonizing fungi are key determinants of plant growth, driving processes ranging from pathogenesis to stress alleviation. Evidence suggests that they might also facilitate host access to soil nutrients in a mycorrhiza-like manner, but the extent of their direct contribution to plant nutrition is unknown. To study how widespread such capacity is across root-colonizing fungi, we surveyed soils in nutrient-limiting habitats using plant baits to look for fungal community changes in response to nutrient conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCethyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA) is one of the most used quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in consumer products. CTMA and other QACs are only partially eliminated in municipal wastewater treatment and they can interact with bacteria in biological processes. Currently, there is only limited information on the antimicrobial efficiency of CTMA in matrices other than standard growth media and if and how CTMA influences conventional chemical disinfection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarbamazepine (CBZ) and Hg are widespread and persistent micropollutants in aquatic environments. Both pollutants are known to trigger similar toxicity mechanisms, e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTire and road wear particles (TRWP) have been shown to represent a large part of anthropogenic particles released into the environment. Nevertheless, the potential ecological risk of TRWP in the different environmental compartments and their potential toxic impacts on terrestrial and aquatic organisms remain largely underinvestigated. Several heavy metals compose TRWP, including Zn, which is used as a catalyst during the vulcanization process of rubber.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic pollution has reached alarming levels in recent years. While macro- and microplastic pollution are attested and studied since the 1970s, much less is known about the associated nanoscopic fragments. Due to their ability to cross biological barriers and their extended surface area-to-volume ratio, nanoplastics (NPs) are currently considered as one of the major threats for aquatic and terrestrial environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Process Impacts
October 2021
The sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOC) onto microplastics is relatively well reported in the literature, while their desorption remains poorly investigated, especially in biological fluids. The present study investigated the sorption and desorption of progesterone on polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) microplastics. The sorption experiments showed that the equilibrium was reached in a few hours for all plastics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies focused only on surface water may underestimate microplastic abundance in aquatic environments. This was the first survey to investigate the vertical (surface, intermediate, and bottom waters) distribution and composition of microplastics (MPs) in the water columns and surface sediments collected from an urban seagoing river in northern China. Microplastic abundance in the water columns ranged from 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the Mekong delta, inland-based shrimp breeding requires significant inflow of high-quality freshwater. In turn, discharge of substantial loads of poor-quality effluents negatively impacts adjacent water bodies and favors disease outbreaks. This project describes the implementation of a laboratory-based continuous closed recirculation aquaculture system composed of a constructed wetland (CW) with horizontal subsurface flow as a water treatment filter for mesohaline conditions, functioning under high loading rate (HLR = 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastics pollution in river systems has generated great concern; however, few studies have focused on the contributions of multiple influencing factors to microplastics in river systems. In the current study, we utilized data on microplastics in surface sediments from the Haihe River, a seagoing river in northern China to establish a generalized additive model (GAM) for quantifying the effects of multiple factors on the distribution of microplastics. A high abundance of microplastics (4980 ± 2462 items∙kg dry weight) was found.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
February 2021
The contamination of water resource and food chain by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) constitutes a major environmental and human health concern worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of POPs in irrigation water, soil and in Amaranthus viridis (A. viridis) from different gardening sites in Kinshasa to evaluate the potential environmental and human health risks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe distribution, partitioning behavior and risk assessment of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the surface sediment-pore water system of the Haihe River were investigated. The total cumulative concentrations of 21 PAE species (ΣPAEs) in the surface sediment ranged from 45.9 to 1474.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF