Toxic Impact of Polystyrene Microplastic Particles in Freshwater Organisms
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is leading to an increase of the global production of plastics since the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs, i.e. gloves, gowns, masks, packaging items), has become mandatory to prevent the spread of the virus. Plastic breaks down into micro/nano particles due to physical or chemical or biological actions into environment. Due to small dimensions, ubiquitous and persistent nature, the plastic particles represent a significant threat to ecosystems and can entry into food chains. Among the plastic polymers used for PPEs, polystyrene is less studied regarding its eco-geno-toxicity. This study aims to investigate the acute, chronic and subchronic effects of the microplastic polystyrene beads (PS-MP, size 1.0 µm) on three freshwater species, the alga Raphidocelis subcapitata, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, the crustacean Ceriodaphnia dubia and the benthic ostracod Heterocypris incongruens. Furthermore, the potential genotoxicity and the ROS production due to the PS-MP were also determined in C. dubia.Results revealed that the acute effects occurred at concentrations of PS-MP in the order of dozens of mg/L in B. calyciflorus and C. dubia and hundreds of mg/L in H. incongruens.Regarding long-term toxicity, increasing chronic effects with EC50s in the order of units (C. dubia), hundreds (B. calyciflorus) and thousands (R. subcapitata) of µg/L were observed. Both for acute and chronic/sub chronic toxicity, daphnids were more sensitive to…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Green Chemistry: A Framework for a Sustainable Future
- Nano/micro-plastic, an invisible threat getting into the brain
- Emerging contaminants antibiotic resistance genes and microplastics in the environment: Introduction to 21 review articles published in CREST during 2018–2022
- Water Resources and Sustainable Development
- Nano- and microplastics in the workplace
- Water Enclosure and World-Literature: New Perspectives on Hydro-Power and World-Ecology
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.