Bits Of Plastic Research Articles

Impact of Microplastic (MP) Pollution in Seagrass Ecosystem

Seagrass ecosystems are one of the vital coastal habitats that claim numerous ecological, economic, and social benefits. However, this unique underwater ecosystem is facing threats from MP (MP) pollution which is an emerging global concern. MPs are tiny, fragmented plastic bits (5mm) found all over the world. Plastics, used in daily life are frequently blindly discarded into the ocean by humans, causing harm to the marine ecosystem by lowering its quality. Since MPs can persist in the environment for a prolonged period, they can harm the environment and are difficult to eradicate. They are used by marine species, which results in their assimilation, biomagnification, and bioaccumulation in the trophic levels. The existing documentation and research on MP accumulation in seagrass habitats is remarkably limited. Additionally, taking into account more than a decade of research (from 2000 to 2023), none of the research that came out before 2017, demonstrated the severity of the issue and devoted efforts to address and manage the problem. India, is one among the nations having significant seagrass habitats. If prompt attention isn’t paid to tackling MP pollution in marine systems, it will eventually result in the disruption of seagrass beds. This review paper synthesizes current knowledge on the biological and chemical impact of MP pollution in seagrass ecosystems. This review article gives a brief idea about the seagrass ecosystems and their global as well as Indian distribution. It also explores the sources, distribution, and destiny of microplastics in various ecosystems, together with their potential ecological and biological consequences on seagrass and their associated organisms. Additionally, the paper discusses mitigation strategies and identifies critical research gaps, emphasizing the need for comprehensive studies to understand and mitigate the continuing effect of MPs on seagrass ecosystems.

Mechanical behaviour of bricks from waste material

Plastic is made of plastic, which means it can't be broken down by the natural processes that happen in the environment. Every day, the amount of plastic trash that is considered municipal solid waste grows quickly. Plastic is made of hydrocarbons, which can be made from oil, coal, and other minerals. Plastic can also be made out of natural gas. Natural gas can also be used to make plastic. Plastic is thrown away after it has been used, which comes with a number of risks. Plastic comes in handy when it's needed the most. The most common types of plastic are high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and high-density plastic (HD). Because of this, the bits of plastic that people throw away should be recycled into paver blocks so that they can be put to good use. This is one of the best ways to keep plastic waste, which can't be broken down by natural processes, from piling up. Low-density polyethylene is mixed with different amounts of sand and aggregate, and this mixture is then added in a way that doesn't let in any contaminants. This is done to make bricks with a high compressive strength and good heat and sound insulation. This is done to cut down on construction costs and protect the environment. This is also one of the most effective ways to stop plastic waste from piling up, which makes it one of the most important goals. Plastic paver blocks have a much lower ability to soak up water than other kinds. According to the numbers, the overall strength of the blocks was much higher than that of paver blocks.

Some Behavioural and Physiological Effects of Plastics (Polyethylene) on Fish

Waste generation and disposal, particularly of plastics, have grown significantly over time due to the rapid expansion of urban development. Aquatic species are especially threatened by plastic pollution because the aquatic ecosystem serves as a sink for all contaminants. The capacity for regular development and reproduction is crucial for both human and wildlife health. The endocrine system, which comprises numerous glands that emit hormones to control blood sugar, growth, reproduction, metabolism, and the development of the brain, normally controls these functions. The majority of the synthetic organic chemicals used in plastics come from petroleum. It is well known that their effects cause the endocrine system's regular operation to be disrupted. Plastics are produced at a low cost, and their light weight and adaptability make them candidates for a wide range of uses in all facets of daily life. Plastic waste can enter the ecosystem through waste discharges from oil and gas platforms, aquaculture, and landfills, as well as through litter such as bags and plastic bits used as abrasives. Because they include indigestible particles that fill the stomach and lessen appetite, plastics have been implicated in harming the health of a variety of creatures. They were also discovered in the gastrointestinal tract of individual fish after one week, which disrupted the food's flow to the intestinal mucosa and had an impact on the fish's growth and physical condition. Additionally, fish exposed to plastics have been shown to exhibit changed behavior, decreased sperm motility, and increased thyroid hormone production. Therefore, exposure to varied amounts of polyethylene impairs an organism's normal physiological functioning and has the potential to impact negatively on both the health of the organism and its offspring. This review was aimed at highlighting the risks of plastic exposure to fish and people through the food chain.

A Survey on Detection of Plastic-Related Chemicals in Beer Packaged in PET Using FT-IR Technology

The emerging consciousness on nano- and microplastics in our environment raises questions on how to reduce and minimize its influence on human health. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging is gaining popularity, and many traditional products end up in such packaging (vinegar, wine, beer). Currently, it is very hard to quantify the number of particles and their exact composition, but semi-quantitative techniques such as FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry) can give us an insight into the chemical composition of plastic bits in foods and beverages. Nowadays, beer is packed in PET packaging, since it provides a cheaper packaging material compared to glass and since it is safe to use at public manifestations, contrary to glass bottles, while providing a reasonable barrier for gas permeation (O2 and CO2). The aim of this paper was to provide a short overview of FT-IR-detected compounds in PET-packaged beer samples. The results indicate that many compounds can be found in beer, but those that were most commonly found in our research were β-cyclodextrin and L(-)-glyceraldehyde unnatural forms, two compounds designated as plastic-related compounds.

Use of Waste Plastic Materials in Flexible Pavements

Plastic waste generation and disposal contribute significantly to pollution and global warming. The properties and strength of bituminous mixtures are both enhanced by the inclusion of plastic detritus. Also, it will be a fix for other pavement issues including potholes, corrugation, ruts, and so forth. It was discovered that bitumen mixtures used in flexible pavements work well with plastic as a binder. By preventing cracks and rainwater infiltration, which would otherwise contribute to the development of potholes, this efficient method helps pavements tolerate greater temperatures. For India's hot and extremely humid climate, where temperatures regularly exceed 50°C and torrential rains cause havoc and leave the majority of the roads with large potholes, plastic roads would be a godsend. Bitumen is used as a binder in the traditional road construction process. Such bitumen can be altered with leftover plastic bits to create a bitumen mix that can be applied as the top coat of flexible pavement. This modified bitumen made from discarded plastic exhibits enhanced adhesion, stability, density, and water resistance.

Plastics, Birds, and Humans: Awakening and Quickening Ecological Minds in Young Children and Their Teachers

Working with educators, artists, young children, and materials to make meaning with place affected by human environmental impacts, this study zooms in on a documentary of dying birds who’ve swallowed plastics. The birds’ habitat is an eye-opening 2,000 miles from the nearest continent and is infested with trash and plastic. The birds ingest many shiny plastic bits and slowly die. This research paper focuses in on experiences of sharing this documentary with teacher educators at an international conference, then educators in our own context, and then with early childhood artists working in reuse materials. The research captures a series of dialogues and materials interactions at each of the three gatherings about possible ways to research with young children on daunting ecological issues in perilously turbulent times.

Chasing atmospheric plastic

In 2017, biogeochemist Janice Brahney was collecting dust deposited in remote wilderness areas in the western US. She wanted to study how phosphorus that was transported through the air to these wild places might disrupt their ecosystems. But Brahney’s samples contained more than the soil particles she was expecting. Under the microscope were “enormous amounts of plastic,” the Utah State University researcher says. There were fibers, spheres, and chunks of the stuff, in all different colors. Plastic is ubiquitous wherever people go, but Brahney’s study areas—including remote parts of the High Uintas Wilderness in Utah and Rocky Mountain National Park—don’t get a lot of human traffic. She was determined to figure out how microplastics could have gotten there. She didn’t have funding to work on the problem, so she investigated this mystery in her spare time, spending years of evenings and weekends cataloging the plastic bits. Her detailed investigation led

Bivalves as Biological Sieves: Bioreactivity Pathways of Microplastics and Nanoplastics.

AbstractOceanic and coastal sampling programs have indicated extensive plastic pollution of marine habitats and revealed the need for understanding the scope and potential impacts of plastics on marine organisms. Sampling regimes for macroplastics (>5 mm) that can be visually collected for quantification and characterization in marine habitats provide valuable environmental data for the larger plastics. But less is known about the scope or potential impacts of small micron- and nano-sized bits of plastic that result from weathering of macroplastics and inputs of manufactured particles that could profoundly affect marine invertebrates, especially suspension feeders. Essential fundamental information about bivalve biology along with current research and reviews on microplastics, nanoplastics, and engineered nanoparticles were integrated to discuss how filter-feeding bivalves can serve as valuable bioindicators of plastic pollution. Bivalves can serve as important bioaccumulators of plastic particles and exhibit processing pathways that serve as biological sieves. Mesoplastics (1-5 mm) and large microplastics (>25 µm) will have a relatively short transit time (hours to days) and will primarily be concentrated in biodeposits (pseudofeces and feces). Small microplastics (<25 µm) and nanoplastics (<1 µm) are more likely to be accumulated in digestive gland tissues and cells, and also hemocytes, and will have longer retention times. Lysosomes are a common target organelle for uptake and toxicity in both of these cell types. Therefore, bivalves can potentially act as biological sieves for characterizing relative environmental exposures and bioreactivity of microplastics and nanoplastics, based on critical particle capture and processing pathways. This framework highlights the importance of developing diagnostic approaches to characterize potential environmental risks associated with plastic particles as well as potential interactions with other anthropogenic pollutants.

Plastic world

Plastic world

Reinforcing Some Kuwaiti Soils with Shredded High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) Bits

ABSTRACT Large amounts of shredded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bits are generated in Kuwait as a by-product of the production of plastic pipes. To find beneficial uses for this waste material, an extensive laboratory testing program was carried out on two local surface sands of Kuwait amended with shredded HDPE bits in amounts varying from 0 percent to 15 percent (by weight). Laboratory tests included sieve analysis, modified proctor compaction, direct shear, consolidation, and permeability tests. The testing measured the effect of increased HDPE content on the different soil properties. The results indicate a reduction of the maximum density of about 20 percent and a substantial increase in the permeability and compressibility. The strength parameters, namely the cohesion, C, and the angle of internal friction, ϕ, increased with increasing HDPE content. Therefore, the use of HDPE plastic bits as an additive to the local soils in Kuwait is beneficial for many practical applications, such as lightweight fill, embankment construction, and as a drainage layer in the construction of landfills.

Mosquitoes may be contaminating ecosystems with tiny bits of plastic

Mosquitoes may be contaminating ecosystems with tiny bits of plastic

Plastic Naturecultures

A jellyfish surrounds a plastic fragment, merging the synthetic material with its body; a water agency poster warns of dangerous plastic bottle ‘fish’ in the Mediterranean; marine organisms take shelter on and under synthetic materials. These are the denizens of a growing realm marine ecologists call the ‘plastisphere’, where sea life and plastics meet. Building upon multispecies ethnography, science and technology studies interrogations of nature/culture divides and the practical work of classification, this article explores the indeterminacy – the very plasticity – of the category of ‘species’ as it is engaged in seriousness and irony, with living and nonliving bodies. First, I draw on participant observation at a nonprofit marine institute laboratory in California to trace the travels of plastic-creatures through attempts to disentangle them in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Here volunteers sort tiny plastic bits from animal ones under the microscope, enacting material boundaries as they decide what gets counted as life (not plastic) and what does not (plastic). Second, I follow movements of plastic-creatures through public education campaigns, paying particular attention to assumptions about belonging and agency enacted with assumptions about whether and when plastic-species should or should not meet. I argue that the ‘danger’ of plastic relationships lurks not in associations but in the very categories used to know and live with forms of plastic and forms of life, in the kinds of belonging that emerge with kinds of materials, and in the failure to recognize the impossibility of their separation.

U.K. aims to reduce microplastics in oceans

The U.K. is developing policies to stop microplastics from ending up in oceans and seas. U.K. Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom earlier this month announced plans to ban the manufacture and sale of minute plastic beads used in some cosmetics and personal care products. Leadsom points out that 25 U.K. companies that make cosmetics and toiletries are voluntarily phasing out microbeads from their products. After banning tiny plastic spheres in these items, she says, the U.K. government will gather data on the extent of environmental harm from microbeads used in household and industrial cleaning products. In the future, the U.K. will study how to prevent small fragments of plastic, such as microfibers from synthetic fabrics, from entering the marine environment. Wastewater treatment plants don’t remove small bits of plastic, which are resistant to biodegradation, so they end up in the world’s oceans and lakes. Toxic substances can adsorb onto these particles,

Microplastics stunt fish growth and alter behavior

Microplastics, which include microbeads intentionally placed in personal care products and tiny bits of plastic that shear off larger objects, are increasingly polluting oceans worldwide. And concern is growing that these particles are hurting marine organisms and making their way into the human diet. A new study of fish now helps validate those fears by showing that high levels of polystyrene microplastics inhibit hatching, stunt growth, and boost predation of perch (Science 2016, DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8828). The findings are “a serious cause for concern,” says Oona M. Lonnstedt, who carried out the study with Peter Eklov at Uppsala University. “Microplastic particles often accumulate in shallow coastal areas, where many developmental stages of aquatic organisms are found.” The research could help support microplastics prohibition efforts. Last year, the United Nations Environment Programme called for a phaseout and ban of microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products, and President Barack Obama si...

Potential for Reuse of E-Plastics through Processing by Compression Molding

The amounts of e-waste, consisting of metal (e-metals) and plastic (e-plastics) streams from electronic goods, are increasing in the United States and elsewhere. The e-metals waste streams are being recycled to a reasonable degree due to the value of precious metals. E-plastic waste streams currently are not recycled or reused to a significant extent. As a result, most e-plastics are disposed of by landfilling or thermal treatment, or sent overseas for alleged recycling or reuse, any of which could result in unsafe worker exposure and release into the environment. Two of the major barriers to e-plastics’ reuse or recycling are the mixed plastic content and the presence in the e-plastics of flame retardants (FR), of which two classes in particular, the brominated flame retardants (BFR) and organo-phosphorus flame retardants (OPFR), have associated health concerns. The major goal of this project is to investigate the possibility of direct reuse of e-plastics in compression molding. Preliminary data generated have identified a molding procedure that yields remanufactured e-plastics having a tensile strength of 29.3 MPa. This moderate strength level is suspected to be due to inclusions of plastic bits that did not melt and internal voids from out-gassing. Handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was utilized to characterize elemental components in the e-plastics tested for compression molding. Several high “hits” for Br were found that could not be predicted visually. The preliminary XRF data for BFR and OPFR in this work are helpful for environmental and occupational hazard assessments of compression molding activities. Additionally, methods are suggested to characterize the metals, BFR, and OPFR content of the e-plastics using several different additional laboratory analytical techniques to determine the suitability for cost-effective and easy-to-use technologies.

Клінічно-орієнтовані технології забезпечення якості лікування пацієнтів пластмасовими коронками

&lt;p&gt;The plastic crowns are the most inexpensive of all currently known materials for fixed prosthetics. Plastics have many disadvantages, but the affordable price of this material is not so bad as it may seem at first glance. Actually bits of plastic have certain advantages. For example, the speed and comparative ease of fabrication, uncharacteristic for metal-ceramic, zirconium crowns, gold and other expensive bits. The investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of the improved treatment of patients by plastic crowns with the selection of compliance-complexes "material-design". We have formed 2 groups of patients with plastic crowns and two subgroups (depending on applied innovation in clinical laboratory stage). For each subgroup a separate clinical groups of patients we used alternative compliance-complexes of dental materials. As a result of treatment by plastic crowns with the use of dental materials with the maximum value of compliance-complexes the impact of the denture on the condition of the oral cavity is achieved by reducing the level of dysbiosis, a decrease in the activity of urease and a decrease in the viscosity of the oral fluid.&lt;/p&gt;

Tiny bits of plastic in ocean are hurting oyster reproduction

Tiny bits of plastic in ocean are hurting oyster reproduction

Plastics on the Half Shell

People who often eat oysters, mussels, or other bivalves could also be swallowing thousands of plastic particles each year. Recent studies by Belgian scientists offer the first direct evidence that tiny plastic fragments are entering the human diet through cultured and wild seafood. As filter feeders, bivalves draw in an estuary’s rich organic soup of water and plankton through their open shells and gills. They also draw in tiny plastic fragments, many of which can get trapped in the animals’ guts, tissues, and circulatory systems, according to a study in the October 2014 issue of Environmental Pollution by environmental toxicologists Lisbeth Van Cauwenberghe and Colin R. Janssen, of Ghent University, in Belgium. The authors reported on the numbers of very small plastic particles (less than 25 microns in diameter) found in two commonly farmed and commercially important species: the mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Previous studies have exposed animals to microplastics (less than 5 millimeters in diameter) at very high concentrations in laboratory settings to test the physical and chemical impacts on the animals. The 2014 study, however, was the first to look inside organisms for microplastics that animals had ingested in the sea. The researchers faced technical challenges in extracting microscopic plastic bits from fleshy bivalves. “It’s difficult to figure out a method to extract plastic particles from the tissue,” says Cauwenberghe, “because the particles are so small and there’s a lot of tissue.” The researchers acquired farmraised mussels reared in the North Sea of Germany. Oysters, sealed in an airtight package, were acquired from a supermarket and reared in the Atlantic waters of Brittany, France. They put half of the oysters in filtered seawater for three days to clear their guts. The rest of the oysters were immediately prepared for analysis. The mussels were similarly prepared. The researchers then removed each animal from its shell and weighed its soft wet tissues. Next, the tissues were digested in an overnight solution of 69 percent nitric acid, followed by two hours of boiling and then by dilution with filtered water. The remaining material was filtered, dried, and examined for microplastics. The plastic pieces were counted and characterized for size. One surprising result was that gut clearances over three days did not remove the majority of plastic items in either animal. The average microplastic load was 0.36 particles per gram of soft tissue in the mussels prepared for analysis on arrival at the lab, whereas an average of 0.24 particles remained in the gut-cleared mussels. A similar trend was observed in the oysters. So where did plastic particles become stuck in the organisms? Plastic particles in the size range of 10–20 microns are small enough to slip through a bivalve’s gut wall into its circulatory system or tissues and become lodged there. Larger particles could have become lodged in an animal’s digestive system, says Cauwenberghe. In an average portion of cultured oysters, a diner would consume about 50 particles. In an average portion of cultured mussels, a person would consume 90 plastic particles. For a heavy consumer of bivalves, this might amount to dietary exposure of 11,000 microplastics per year. It is not only cultured bivalves that are accumulating microplastics. In an April 2015 study in Environmental Pollution, Cauwenberghe and her colleagues found an average of 0.2 microplastics per gram of soft tissue after gut clearance in wild M. edulis harvested at six sites along the French–Belgian–Dutch shoreline. The wild mussels, then, had slightly lower concentrations than cultured ones had in the 2014 study, but their different locations made comparisons difficult. Wild mussels are intertidal—meaning they are out of the water during part of each day— whereas cultured mussels are subtidal and exposed longer to microplastics in the water column. Now, teams of scientists are working on new technologies that could help identify microplastics lodged in marine animals without the time and expense of laboratory studies, according to Mark Anthony Browne, senior research associate at the University of New South Wales, in Australia. “A lot of people are working quite hard to develop techniques that would allow us for the first time to scan tissues and find bits of plastic accumulating in the protein and the things that we eat every day,” he says. Browne is part of an Australian team developing vibrational spectroscopy techniques that could be used in the field to take samples and find the unique fingerprints of various plastic chemical bonds: “We could take a blood or tissue sample of a killer whale, a mussel, fish, or a human, and then we could see the plastic inside.”

Science Podcast: 11 July Show

On this week's show: A sea of plastic bits and a roundup of stories from our daily news site.

Plastic Pollution Harms Marine Life

Marine creatures get a double whammy when they eat tiny bits of plastic that float in the ocean or accumulate in marine sediments. Damage happens when marine organisms eat the plastic, but they also consume toxic pollutants the plastics carry on their surfaces. Two new studies show that when fish and marine worms eat such a plastic-toxics combo, some of the pollutants accumulate in their bodies and make them sick. Chelsea M. Rochman at the University of California, Davis, and her colleagues find that fish bioaccumulate flame retardants and other organic pollutants when they eat plastic debris from the ocean, causing hepatic stress (Nat. Sci. Reports 2013, DOI: 10.1038/srep03263). The team fed microplastic fragments to two groups of Japanese medaka in the laboratory. One group ate polyethylene fragments that had been exposed to the waters of San Diego Bay, thereby sorbing a variety of organic pollutants from the bay, and ...