Are Microfibers a Threat to Marine Invertebrates? A Sea Urchin Toxicity Assessment.

The rise of "fast fashion" has driven up the production of low-cost, short-lived clothing, significantly increasing global textile fiber production and, consequently, exacerbating environmental pollution. This study investigated the ecotoxicological effects of different types of anthropogenic microfibers-cotton, polyester, and mixed fibers (50% cotton: 50% polyester)-on marine organisms, specifically sea urchin embryos. All tested fibers exhibited toxicity, with cotton fibers causing notable effects on embryonic development even at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Effects of substances released from a coal tar-based coating used to protect harbor structures on oysters.

Products coal tar-based are largely used as concrete structures as protective coatings but some questions about leaching and potential toxic effects remain unclear. A laboratory experiment exposing oysters to miniaturized concrete pillars painted with Lackpoxi N1761 over time was performed and trace elements and 17 PAH were monitored in seawater exposure media, and oyster tissues. The original paint composition was also analyzed, and high concentrations of trace elements and PAH were detected.

Human health and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment of Woji creek in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Human health risk was determined by assessing risk due to dermal contact with the sediment and Benzo [a] pyrene -equivalent concentrations (BaP-TEQ- carcinogenic equivalents and BaP-MEQ- mutagenic equivalents). Ecological risk of PAHs in the sediment was determined by comparing PAHs concentrations to effect range low (ERL) and effect range median (ERM); to estimate the risk associated with the combined effects of PAHs, mean ERM quotient (mERMq) was calculated. Results revealed that hazard index (HI) due to dermal contact of the sediment for adults are 596 and 73.

Effects of a hypothetical escape of CO gas from subterranean storage sites on water flea Daphnia magna.

The impacts of a hypothetical CO gas leak from freshwater sediments on the survival and reproduction of freshwater flea Daphnia magna were analyzed. Another objective was to assess the performance of standard toxicity testing protocols for CO-induced acidification research in freshwaters. Four pH levels (7.

Simulating CO₂ leakages from CCS to determine Zn toxicity using the marine microalgae Pleurochrysis roscoffensis.

Due to the current climate change and ocean acidification, a new technology for CO2 mitigation has been proposed, the Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS). However, there is an ecological risk associated with potential CO2 leakages from the sub-seabed storages sites. To evaluate the effects related to CO2 leakages, laboratory-scales experiments were performed using the marine microalgae Pleurochrysis roscoffensis.

The application of biochemical responses to assess environmental quality of tropical estuaries: field surveys.

A battery of biomarkers of exposure (EROD, DBF, GST and GPx) and effect (lipid peroxidation and DNA damage - strand breaks) were analyzed in gill tissues from caged and native oysters Crassostrea rhizophorae exposed to two tropical estuarine systems in SW Brazil: Santos (S1, S2, S3, S4) and Paranaguá (P1 - control, P2, P3, P4). The exposure lasted 28 days. Native oysters were sampled in the same areas where caged systems were exposed.

Distribution of arsenic and trace metals in the floodplain agricultural soil of Bangladesh.

Arsenic contaminated groundwater of Bangladesh is one of the largest natural calamities of the world. Soil samples were collected from floodplain agricultural land of Faridpur and Dhamrai regions to estimate the concentration of arsenic and other trace metals (copper, nickel, zinc, chromium, cadmium, lead, selenium, cobalt, mercury, and manganese). Average arsenic in Faridpur soil was recorded more than three times higher than the world limit and nearly five times higher than that of Dhamrai.

The role of biomarkers to assess oil-contaminated sediment quality using toxicity tests with clams and crabs.

A 28-d bioassay was conducted with two invertebrate species with different feeding habits, the clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the shore crab Carcinus maenas. The purpose of the present study was to assess the quality of sediments affected by oil spills in different areas of the Spanish coast. The organisms were exposed to environmental samples of oil-contaminated sediments during four weeks and, after the experiment, a suite of biomarkers of exposure was measured: The phase one detoxification system was assessed by ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity; glutathione-S-transferase (GST) is a phase-two detoxification enzyme but also is implicated in oxidative stress events; glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GR), and the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay were analyzed to determine the antioxidant activity of the tissues.

Toxicological characterisation of the aqueous soluble phase of the Prestige fuel-oil using the sea-urchin embryo bioassay.

The soluble components of fuel oil are generally assumed to be the fraction that is toxic for organisms living in the water column. We have used a liquid phase bioassay with embryos of sea urchin to assess the toxicity of the water-soluble fraction (elutriate) of the fuel oil spilled when the tanker Prestige sank on 13 November 2002. Two methodologies to obtain elutriates were carried out in order to compare the effect of the extraction method on the measured toxicity.