Seafood with a Side of Microplastics

By Iva Fedorka.

Plastic waste has been found in the Arctic Circle, at the top of Mount Everest, and at the bottom of the oceans. These tiny plastic particles, or microplastics, are frequently ingested by marine animals in our food chain and we do not yet fully understand how they may affect aquatic and human health.

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

Plastic production has increased annually by 8.7 percent since the 1960s and is now a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. From 4 to 12 million metric tons of plastics find their way into the oceans every year and total amount is expected to outweigh the fish population by 2050. Conservatively, 5.25 trillion plastic particles were circulating in the Earth’s surface waters in 2018.

Eighty percent of these plastic materials are waste and items discarded from industrial discharge, inland waterways, and wastewater outflows. Approximately three-quarters of this waste is uncollected waste and the waste management system contributes the remaining 25 percent.

What Are Microplastics?

The term microplastics (MP) was introduced in 2004 to describe plastic particles from 0.1µm to 5mm in size. They vary in size, shape, chemical composition, and polymer type. The most common resins are polyethylene and polypropylene. Some MP were manufactured at a small size (“primary” MP), while others (“secondary” MP) are created as larger items degrade.

Sources of Microplastics

Personal care products (like exfoliants) contain microbeads which are one type of primary MP. The daily release of microbeads into marine habitats is estimated to be eight billion in the United States alone. Industrial abrasives and pellets used to make larger plastic items are another significant source of primary MP. Secondary MP may include textile microfibers and dust from tires, along with the particles created by the degradation of other plastic items.

Plastic Degradation

Even if plastic manufacturing were stopped completely, secondary MP would continue to be produced from existing plastic waste as it degrades. The rate of degradation depends on the resin or polymer and the type, shape, density, and age of the plastic item. Environmental conditions (weather, temperature, radiation, and pH) also affect the rate of degradation.

Although plastics are durable, they can still be affected by biodegradation (decomposition by microorganisms), photo degradation by sunlight or photons, thermo or thermal oxidation (slow molecular deterioration at moderate or high temperatures), and the hydrolytic effects of water.

Research Issues

Although many reports have been published about MP pollution in seafood and aquatic environments, a lack of standardized sampling, identification, quantitation, and analytical methods has produced inconsistent results.

Sample Collection and Preparation

Water, sediment, and the gastrointestinal tracts of aquatic animals are the usual samples of choice. Surface water is collected using nets or trawls. Sediment can be gathered by shovel or core sampling. The livers, gills, guts, and other organs of aquatic organisms are dissected. The MP are then separated from the matrices using density determination, chemical digestion, and other sample preparation methods.

Characterization and Quantification

Once the MP are segregated, they are chemically evaluated to identify the specific types of polymers they contain. Currently, scientists characterize MP using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, pyrolysis, and other imaging techniques.

The MP content of water, sediment, and biota are typically expressed as “particles per m³", “particles per m²", or “particles per individual”, respectively. However, many assessments may not include nano-sized plastic particles (with a size range from 0.001 to 0.1µm), for which effective measurement methods are not always available.

In addition to the resins, chemicals are added in the plastic-making process. As much as 4 percent of MP weight may be plasticizers, pigments, antimicrobial agents, stabilizers, and other additives. These chemicals can leach into the surroundings from the plastics. Leaching increases with degradation as the surface-to-volume ratio of the MP increases.

MP have also been shown to absorb persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides, flame retardants, and other by-products of consumer goods or municipal waste.

What’s Next?

Although we are advised by nutritional authorities to eat more seafood, concerns about MP content may actually lead to reduced consumption. More research about human and animal health risks from MP is critical if we are to protect consumers and the environment.

Although many water creatures that ingest MP have been studied, more research is needed. Since some MP are denser than water, they sink and bottom-feeding organisms are more likely to ingest them. Other MP are less dense and may be eaten by fish and other species that inhabit the water column.

Preventing and removing MP from water is also a major issue. Engineering and biotechnological tools, such as advanced water treatments, could help to control, reduce, or even eliminate MP pollution. However, the elimination of plastic waste is also affected by economic development, local infrastructure, and legislation, making changes to established habits, practices, and employment a challenge.

Iva Fedorka is a Thermo Fisher Scientific content copywriter.