Oceanic long-range transport of organic additives present in plastic products: an overview ...

• Main Authors: Andrade, Helena, Glüge, Juliane, Herzke, Dorte, Ashta, Narain M., Nayagar, Shwetha M., Scheringer, Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2021
• Subjects: Plastic additives; Long-range transport; Leaching; Floating plastic; Plastic debris; Arctic; LRTP; Chemicals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000499580; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/499580

Most plastics are made of persistent synthetic polymer matrices that contain chemical additives in significant amounts. Millions of tonnes of plastics are produced every year and a significant amount of this plastic enters the marine environment, either as macro- or microplastics. In this article, an overview is given of the presence of marine plastic debris globally and its potential to reach remote locations in combination with an analysis of the oceanic long-range transport potential of organic additives present in plastic debris. The information gathered shows that leaching of hydrophobic substances from plastic is slow in the ocean, whereas more polar substances leach faster but mostly from the surface layers of the particle. Their high content used in plastic of several percent by weight allows also these chemicals to be transported over long distances without being completely depleted along the way. It is therefore likely that various types of additives reach remote locations with plastic debris. As a ... : Environmental Sciences Europe, 33 (1) ...