A group of scientists proved this plastic They release the chemical additives they contain not only when they begin to deteriorate in the natural environment, but also from the first moment they are abandoned in the field or in the sea. Although it takes a long time for plastic to break down into small pieces, The chemicals it contains begin to leach as soon as they enter the water.
Lisbet Sørensen, research scientist at SINTEF Ocean, says the study focused on the impact on the marine environment, so two groups of microorganisms were examined: bacteria and microalgae, or phytoplankton.
“We then worked on cod eggs and larvae, one of our most important natural resources,” says Sørensen. “We recognize that fish, like humans, are more vulnerable to the health effects of pollution when they are immature,” he explains.
Among the 50 plastic products used in the research were: supermarket bags, disposable cups, dishwashing gloves, car tire granules, various children’s toys and balloonsbut some, such as rubber materials, were added later.
What happens when plastic breaks down?
“We were very surprised by this” Number of different chemicals we detected in these products” says Sørensen, who leads a multi-country interdisciplinary team of biologists and chemists. “Only 30% of the chemical compounds identified were found in two or more products. There are also many chemicals that we cannot identify with certainty because they are not on established substance lists. “This showed us how little we know about the composition of many of the everyday products around us,” he says.
The aim of the project was to find out how toxic these chemicals are to living organisms. when plastic products reach the marine environment. When plastics break down physically or chemically due to environmental factors, they turn into microplastic particles. However, long before this process is completed, chemical additives in plastics can leak into the natural environment.
Natural rubber is far from harmless
The research team examined the impact of chemicals leaching from microplastics and rubber particles into the marine environment.
SINTEF principal investigator Andy Booth said: “What we saw is that products containing high levels of rubber had the worst effects on the microorganisms we investigated. in our experiment.” “This was somewhat surprising, especially since virgin rubber is considered a ‘natural’ product. “But we discovered that it was among the most toxic substances to the microorganisms we studied,” he adds.
Chemical compounds leaching from rubber gloves are particularly harmful.. According to Booth, “Chemicals added to natural rubber and used in dishwashing gloves were found to be the most toxic to microorganisms.” “These are the ingredients we found in four of the 50 products we analyzed: dishwashing gloves, car tyres, rubber balloons and disposable gloves.”
Deformed fish larvae
Another experiment carried out by the project consisted of: Exposure of cod embryos and newborn larvae to both microplastic particles and chemical compounds found in plastics. The team also exposed the eggs and larvae to a combination of both because they are indistinguishable from each other in the real world. The team presented their results in articles published in the journal Journal of Hazardous Materials, Marine Pollution Bulletin And Total Environmental Science.
The researchers first identified and extracted toxic chemicals from different plastics and investigated their effects on cod larvae.
“What we observed was that some chemicals directly prevented eggs from hatching, while others produced significant physical effects on the larvae,” says biologist and scientific researcher Stefania Piarulli from SINTEF. “We discovered that the larvae developed Vertebral deformities that remind us of the condition we call scoliosisyes,” he explains.
Which is worse, microplastics or chemicals?
What about microplastic particles? Is their physical state harmful, or is it the combination of their size and the chemicals they emit that makes them so toxic?
To clarify, researchers compared the effects of particles and chemicals separatelyand were surprised to discover that the chemicals were required to produce the toxic effect.
“The peculiarity of this experiment is that we have developed a completely new method.”Clean microplastics from all traces of chemicals“explains Piarulli. “This is the only way we can know for sure about the impact of microplastic particles,” he says.
In other words, the team did not detect any toxic effects if the physical particles did not contain chemicals.
Elastic plastics are one of a kind
The research team discovered that not all types of plastic are toxic. It is the combination of different plastic products that determines the level of toxicity, and elastic plastic products appeared to be among the worst.
“This means we now know that It is possible to reduce toxicity in many products by choosing alternative polymer combinations during production.“says Andy Booth.
“It is worth noting that chemicals added to natural rubber and used in dishwashing gloves turned out to be the most toxic chemicals for microorganisms,” the researcher emphasized.
What about mammals and humans?
Scientists also analyzed the impact on humans. Is there any reason to believe that animals used for food, such as wild and farmed fish, chicken, pork, or beef, contain many of these chemicals? “Both humans and other animals are constantly exposed to macro and microplastics and chemical additives. “What they contain,” explains biologist and researcher Stefania Piarulli, a member of the team.
“So it is natural to assume that. We are also exposed to plastic-related chemical additives through the food we eat. “But we will need more research to find out how much of these chemicals come from meat products and how much from packaging,” he says. “My view is that we are exposed to many chemicals related to food processing and cooking. more chemicals than plastic packaging. We are also exposed to plastic-related chemical additives in many other ways,” says Piarulli.
Lisbet Sørensen, a member of the research team, adds: Plastic products used in connection with food storage and consumption are the least problematic. At the same time, all “food contact materials” are subject to a stringent set of regulations that impose limits on the content of defined and undefined chemical additives.
“Even more worrying is that the plastic products we use every day, Some of the ones designed for children“In our experiments, it did not work as well as food contact materials,” warns Sørensen. “However, it should be noted that in this project we did not investigate any effects that could be directly applied to humans.”
“Never in history have we been exposed to as much pollution as we are today,” says Stefania Piarulli. “That’s why we should always try to reduce our use of plastic. We know that plastics have negative effects, but we also know that there are very possible effects that we have not yet discovered.“Including direct impacts on land and aquatic environments,” he says.
“Plastic is an incredibly useful invention and is vital to our way of life in many contexts, especially in the medical field and in some types of packaging,” says Piarulli.
“But plastics are also used in many environments where they are completely unnecessary, such as in the textile industry and where products are over-packaged. Perhaps the most important thing we need to remember is to avoid the use of plastic wherever possible and use our influence as consumers when we buy products,” he says.
Reference work: DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131810
………….
Contact address of the environmental department:[email protected]