Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld, 4001, Australia.
Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld, 4001, Australia; Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG80, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Environ Pollut. 2020 Aug;263(Pt A):114490. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114490. Epub 2020 Apr 3.
Microplastics pose threats to aquatic environments because they serve as hard-substrate for microbial community colonization and biofilm formation due to their long-life span and hydrophobic surface which can impact on aquatic ecosystems. However, the association between microplastics and other pollutants, particularly nutrients and metals in river sediments are largely unknown. In this study, microplastics abundance and hazard scores which are the risks arising from chemical compounds used for plastics manufacture, and the correlations between microplastics and the concentrations of total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and metals commonly present in the urban environment such as Al, As, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Cd, Se, Sr, Zn, Pb, in Brisbane River sediments were investigated. The study confirmed that the risk associated with microplastics is based on their monomer composition rather than the quantities present. Sediments having relatively higher abundance of microplastics with a relatively lower hazard score result in higher nutrient concentrations. The concentrations of metals in river sediments are more dependent on their original sources rather than the concentration of microplastics. Nevertheless, leachate from plastics should be considered in risk assessment in relation to the association between metals and plastics in aquatic environments.
微塑料对水生环境构成威胁，因为它们的长寿命和疏水性表面使其成为微生物群落定殖和生物膜形成的硬基底，这可能会影响水生生态系统。然而，微塑料与其他污染物（特别是河流沉积物中的营养物质和金属）之间的关联在很大程度上尚不清楚。在本研究中，研究了微塑料丰度和危害评分（即塑料制造中使用的化合物所带来的风险），以及微塑料与总碳 (TC)、总氮 (TN)、总磷 (TP) 浓度之间的相关性，以及在城市环境中常见的金属，如 Al、As、Cr、Co、Cu、Fe、Mg、Mn、Ni、Cd、Se、Sr、Zn、Pb，在布里斯班河沉积物中的浓度。该研究证实，与微塑料相关的风险是基于其单体组成，而不是存在的数量。具有相对较高丰度但危害评分相对较低的微塑料的沉积物会导致更高的营养物质浓度。河流沉积物中的金属浓度更多地取决于其原始来源，而不是微塑料的浓度。然而，在与水生环境中金属和塑料的关联相关的风险评估中，应考虑塑料浸出物。
