Occurrence, distribution, and associated pollutants of plastic pellets (nurdles) in coastal areas of South Texas
Occurrence, distribution, and associated pollutants of plastic pellets (nurdles) in coastal areas of South Texas
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德克萨斯州南部沿海地区塑料颗粒（颗粒）的出现、分布和相关污染物
DOI：
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156826
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Liu, Zhanfei
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jiang, Xiangtao;Conner, Niki;Lu, Kaijun;Tunnell, Jace W.;Liu, Zhanfei
Nuddles，也被称为塑料树脂颗粒，现在是全球海滩塑料污染的主要来源，因此阐明其风化模式和环境命运以及相关污染物非常重要。在这项研究中，我们收集了nurdles从24个地点在德克萨斯州南部的沿海弯曲地区，从附近的海岸火车站附近的海湾和屏障岛屿。研究了土壤中nurdles的形态及多环芳烃（PAHs）、多氯联苯（PCBs）、汞等污染物的形态特征。结果表明，纳米粒在颜色、形状、聚合物组成和氧化程度等方面差异很大。基于傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析，超过80%的乳状物由聚乙烯制成，其余由聚丙烯、聚酯、聚苯乙烯、聚乙烯-乙酸乙烯酯和聚氯乙烯制成。在nurdles上未检测到多氯联苯。在12%和20%的采样点检测到多环芳烃和汞.多环芳烃的总检出浓度为92.59 ~ 1787.23 ng/g，汞的检出浓度为1.23 ~ 22.25 ng/g。虽然这些污染物的浓度没有达到急性毒性效应水平，但多环芳烃和汞的存在表明，鉴于nurdles在环境中具有持久性，生态系统中的海洋生物可能会接触污染物。
Nurdles, also known as plastic resin pellets, are now a major source of plastic pollution on beaches globally, thus it is important to elucidate their weathering patterns and environmental fates as well as the associated pollutants. In this study we collected nurdles from 24 sites in the coastal bend region of south Texas, covering areas from the near shore railway stations to the adjacent bays and barrier islands. The morphologies of nurdles and associated pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury, were investigated. The results showed that the nurdles varied greatly in color, shape, polymer composition, and oxidation degree. More than 80 % of the nurdles were made with polyethylene, and the rest with polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, polyethylene-vinyl acetate, and polyvinyl chloride based on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. PCBs were not detected on nurdles. PAHs and mercury on nurdles were detected at 12 % and 20 % of the sampling sites. The total concentrations of detectable PAHs ranged from 92.59 to 1787.23 ng/g-nurdle, and the detectable mercury concentrations ranged from 1.23 to 22.25 ng/g-nurdle. Although the concentrations of these pollutants were not at the acute toxic effect level, the presence of PAHs and mercury suggested the potential risk of pollutant exposure to marine organisms in ecosystems, given the fact that nurdles are persistent in the environment.