School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, U.K.
School of Ocean Science, Bangor University, Anglesey LL59 5AB, U.K.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Nov 19;58(46):20366-20377. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c05856. Epub 2024 Nov 5.
Biobased plastics are sometimes promoted as "environmentally friendly" compared to their conventional petrochemical-based counterparts, but their ecotoxicity is only partially understood. Biobased fibers are widely used in clothing and wet wipes and can accumulate in soils through the application of biosolid fertilizers. This study examined the lethal thresholds and sublethal toxicity of chemically characterized, additive-free, biobased (viscose and lyocell) compared to petrochemical-based (polyester) fibers on the key ecosystem engineer, . Viscose and lyocell had LC values of 14.00 and 22.66 mg·L, respectively, and no observed effect concentrations (NOEC) of 0-2.8 mg·L (72 h, OECD TG207 filter paper method), while for polyester these were LC 15.6-31.3 mg·L and NOEC 0-15.6 mg·L. Following 28 days of exposure to soils (OECD TG222) contaminated with environmentally relevant concentrations (100 mg kg), viscose significantly reduced the mass of progeny compared to polyester. Earthworms exposed to lyocell had a marginal growth reduction (-18%; compared to -11% to -13% in other treatments) linked to increased bioturbation activity. The biobased fibers examined here have greater acute toxicity at high concentrations and broadly similar sublethal effects on compared to polyester. Our study highlights the importance of detailed testing before advocating specific materials as plastic alternatives/substitutes to conventional plastics.
生物基塑料与传统的基于石油化工的塑料相比，有时被宣传为“环保”，但其生态毒性仅部分被理解。生物基纤维广泛用于服装和湿巾，并且可以通过生物固体肥料的应用而在土壤中积累。本研究比较了化学特征明确、无添加剂的生物基（粘胶纤维和莱赛尔纤维）与石油化工基（聚酯）纤维对关键生态系统工程师（蚯蚓）的致死阈值和亚致死毒性。粘胶纤维和莱赛尔纤维的 LC 值分别为 14.00 和 22.66mg·L，无观察到效应浓度（NOEC）为 0-2.8mg·L（72 小时，OECD TG207 滤纸法），而聚酯的 LC 值为 15.6-31.3mg·L，NOEC 值为 0-15.6mg·L。在接触到含有环境相关浓度（100mg·kg）的土壤（OECD TG222）28 天后，与聚酯相比，粘胶纤维显著降低了后代的质量。与其他处理相比，暴露于莱赛尔纤维的蚯蚓的生长减少了 18%（与 -11%至-13%相比），这与生物扰动活性增加有关。与聚酯相比，本文研究的生物基纤维在高浓度下具有更大的急性毒性，并且对蚯蚓具有广泛相似的亚致死影响。我们的研究强调了在提倡特定材料作为传统塑料的替代物/替代品之前进行详细测试的重要性。
