Microplastics, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and organophosphate esters (OPE) pathways to Canadian Arctic lakes in Yukon and Nunavut via snow deposition

• Main Authors: Lu, Zhe, De Silva, Amila, Amarualik, Peter, Djibril, Youssouf Soubaneh, Iqaluk, Debbie, Jantunen, Liisa, Xie, Huixiang
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Nunavut; Yukon; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.21963/13195; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=13195

Plastic is a general term that refers to a family of organic polymers derived from petroleum sources. In general, plastics are classified as polyester (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and others. Plastic pollution is a growing concern because of the high productions of plastics (e.g., 380 million metric tons year−1 in 2015), a wide distribution of plastic debris in the environment, and the adverse effects of plastic ingestion by organisms including humans. Microplastics are defined as plastic fragments with a diameter below 5 mm. They enter the environment in several ways: (1) discharge from wastewater treatment plants; (2) run-off from cities or agricultural lands with sludge applications; and (3) atmospheric transport and deposition. Microplastics are classified as "primary microplastics" which are produced intentionally (e.g., microbeads in personal care products) and "secondary microplastics" which are degraded from larger plastic to smaller pieces in the environment (e.g., fibers). Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment including the remote regions. There is multiple evidence showing that microplastics (e.g., microfibers) have long-range transport and deposition potentials to remote regions. In the Arctic, others report microplastics have been found in the sea ice (up to 234 pieces/m3) , surface water (up to 1.3 pieces/m3), and snow (up to 14400 pieces/L). However, most of the monitoring data has been centered on the European sites and the contamination of microplastics in the Canadian north region is data-poor. Such information could be important for Canadian researchers, policymakers and local communities. Thus, there is a strong rationale to investigate the microplastics in the Canadian Arctic and establish a baseline for future temporal monitoring of microplastics.