Long-Term Field Measurement
of Sorption of Organic
Contaminants to Five Types of Plastic Pellets: Implications for Plastic
Marine Debris
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Abstract
Concerns regarding marine plastic pollution and its affinity
for
chemical pollutants led us to quantify relationships between different
types of mass-produced plastic and organic contaminants in an urban
bay. At five locations in San Diego Bay, CA, we measured sorption
of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs) throughout a 12-month period to the five most common types
of mass-produced plastic: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density
polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene
(LDPE), and polypropylene (PP). During this long-term field experiment,
sorption rates and concentrations of PCBs and PAHs varied significantly
among plastic types and among locations. Our data suggest that for
PAHs and PCBs, PET and PVC reach equilibrium in the marine environment
much faster than HDPE, LDPE, and PP. Most importantly, concentrations
of PAHs and PCBs sorbed to HDPE, LDPE, and PP were consistently much
greater than concentrations sorbed to PET and PVC. These data imply
that products made from HDPE, LDPE, and PP pose a greater risk than
products made from PET and PVC of concentrating these hazardous chemicals
onto fragmented plastic debris ingested by marine animals