Center for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology, Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, EGIS, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK.
School of Applied Science, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court, Edinburgh EH11 4BN, UK.
Environ Pollut. 2018 Jun;237:675-684. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.069. Epub 2018 Mar 29.
Microplastics (MPs) are the most numerous debris reported in marine environments and assessment of the amounts of MPs that accumulate in wild organisms is necessary for risk assessment. Our objective was to assess MP contamination in mussels collected around the coast of Scotland (UK) to identify characteristics of MPs and to evaluate risk of human exposure to MPs via ingestion of mussels. We deployed caged mussels (Mytilus edulis) in an urbanised estuary (Edinburgh, UK) to assess seasonal changes in plastic pollution, and collected mussels (Mytilus spp and subtidal Modiolus modiolus) from eight sampling stations around Scotland to enumerate MP types at different locations. We determined the potential exposure of humans to household dust fibres during a meal to compare with amounts of MPs present in edible mussels. The mean number of MPs in M. modiolus was 0.086 ± 0.031 (SE, n = 6)/g ww (3.5 ± 1.29 (SE) per mussel). In Mytilus spp, the mean number of MPs/g ww was 3.0 ± 0.9 (SE, n = 36) (3.2 ± 0.52 (SE) per mussel), but weight dependent. The visual accuracy of plastic fibres identification was estimated to be between 48 and 50%, using Nile Red staining and FT-IR methodologies, respectively, halving the observed amounts of MPs in wild mussels. We observed an allometric relationship between the number of MPs and the mussels wet weight. Our predictions of MPs ingestion by humans via consumption of mussels is 123 MP particles/y/capita in the UK and can go up to 4620 particles/y/capita in countries with a higher shellfish consumption. By comparison, the risk of plastic ingestion via mussel consumption is minimal when compared to fibre exposure during a meal via dust fallout in a household (13,731-68,415 particles/Y/capita).
微塑料(MPs)是海洋环境中报道最多的碎片,评估在野生生物中积累的 MPs 数量对于风险评估是必要的。我们的目的是评估苏格兰沿海采集的贻贝中的 MPs 污染情况,以确定 MPs 的特征,并评估通过食用贻贝摄入 MPs 对人类的风险。我们在一个城市化的河口(英国爱丁堡)中部署了贻贝笼,以评估塑料污染的季节性变化,并从苏格兰的八个采样站收集贻贝(贻贝属和潮间带的多鳞牡蛎),以在不同地点对 MPs 类型进行计数。我们确定了人类在进餐时接触家庭灰尘纤维的潜在暴露量,以与可食用贻贝中存在的 MPs 量进行比较。M. modiolus 中的 MPs 平均数量为 0.086 ± 0.031(SE,n = 6)/g ww(3.5 ± 1.29(SE)/只)。在贻贝属中,MPs/g ww 的平均数量为 3.0 ± 0.9(SE,n = 36)(3.2 ± 0.52(SE)/只),但与体重有关。使用尼罗红染色和 FT-IR 方法,分别估计塑料纤维识别的视觉准确性在 48%到 50%之间,这使野生贻贝中观察到的 MPs 数量减少了一半。我们观察到 MPs 数量与贻贝湿重之间存在一种比例关系。通过食用贻贝,我们预测人类通过食用贻贝摄入 MPs 的量在英国为 123 个 MPs 颗粒/年/人,在贝类消费更高的国家可达 4620 个颗粒/年/人。相比之下,通过食用贻贝摄入塑料的风险与家庭灰尘沉降期间通过进餐摄入纤维的风险(13731-68415 个颗粒/年/人)相比是微不足道的。