Trace element distribution in marine microplastics using laser ablation-ICPMS

• Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin
• Main Authors: El Hadri, Hind, Gigault, Julien, Mounicou, Sandra, Grassl, Bruno, Reynaud, Stephanie
• Other Authors: Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux (IPREM), Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Géosciences Rennes (GR), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, ANR-17-CE34-0008,PEPSEA,Nanoparticules de plastiques dans l'environnement: source, impact et prédiction(2017)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: sorption; additives; trace elements; microplastics; Laser ablation-ICP MS; [CHIM.ANAL]Chemical Sciences/Analytical chemistry; [SDE.IE]Environmental Sciences/Environmental Engineering; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03018974; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03018974/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03018974/file/LAICPMS%20grassl-R1%20clean.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111716

International audience Due to the dramatic quantity of plastic debris released into our environment, one of the biggest challenges of the next decades is to trace and quantify microplastics (MPs) in our environments, especially to better evaluate their capacity to transport other contaminants such as trace metals. In this study, trace elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sn, Sb, Pb, and U) were analyzed in the microplastic subsurface (200 μm) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Microplastics subjected to the marine environment were collected on beaches (Guadeloupe) exposed to the north Atlantic gyre. We established a strategy to discriminate sorbed contaminants from additives based on the metal concentration profiles in MP subsurface using qualitative and quantitative approaches. A spatiotemporal correlation of the sorption pattern was proposed to compare MPs in terms of relative exposure time and time-weighted average concentrations in the exposure media.