Abstract
Through transportation accidents or intentional releases, plastic pellets (small granules 1-5 mm in diameter) are widely distributed in the ocean all over the world. These pellets accumulate organic pollutants and can be used for the determination of diffusive seawater pollution. Pellets demonstrating a certain degree of erosion are expected to have enough contact time with the water pollutants and thus, reach sorption equilibrium with the water phase. In the present study, eroded pellets collected from Greek beaches, were separated into polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, i.e. naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) were used as model compounds to study the uptake kinetics into these eroded pellets. Naphthalene uptake demonstrates similar kinetics in both eroded PE and PP. Phenanthrene and pyrene uptake demonstrates slower kinetic rates by eroded PE than by virgin PE and similar kinetic rates by eroded and virgin PP. These observations are then used to evaluate PAHs measurements in pellets sampled from two sampling sites in Saronikos Gulf. It is concluded that seawater in Loutropyrgos beach is polluted by PAHs more than seawater in Aegena island. PAH pollution in both sampling sites is of pyrogenic origin.
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