University of Texas Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, United States of America.
University of Texas Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, United States of America.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Oct 10;842:156826. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156826. Epub 2022 Jun 21.
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.
塑料珠粒，也称为塑料树脂珠粒，现在是全球海滩上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，我们从德克萨斯州南部沿海弯曲地区的 24 个地点收集了塑料珠粒，这些地点涵盖了从近岸火车站到相邻海湾和障壁岛的区域。研究了塑料珠粒的形态以及包括多环芳烃（PAHs）、多氯联苯（PCBs）和汞在内的相关污染物。结果表明，塑料珠粒在颜色、形状、聚合物组成和氧化程度上差异很大。超过 80%的塑料珠粒由聚乙烯制成，其余的由聚丙烯、聚酯、聚苯乙烯、聚乙烯-醋酸乙烯酯和聚氯乙烯制成，这是基于傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析得出的。在塑料珠粒上未检测到 PCBs。在 12%和 20%的采样点上检测到塑料珠粒上的 PAHs 和汞。可检测到的 PAHs 总浓度范围为 92.59 至 1787.23ng/g-珠粒，可检测到的汞浓度范围为 1.23 至 22.25ng/g-珠粒。尽管这些污染物的浓度没有达到急性毒性作用水平，但鉴于塑料珠粒在环境中具有持久性，PAHs 和汞的存在表明污染物暴露对生态系统中海洋生物存在潜在风险。
