Are Microplastic (∼25-1000 μm) and Plasticizer Concentrations Correlated in Sediments of an Urbanized UK Estuary?

ABSTRACT: An understanding of the relationships between plastics and plasticizers is vital in order to assess their environmental risk. We investigated spatial trends and relationships between microplastics and plasticizers in sediments of an urbanized estuary subject to contemporary and historic sources of contamination (Forth estuary, Scotland, UK). As such, this study represents one of the first to investigate the co-occurrence of emerging plasticizers, phthalates, and microplastics in an estuary system. We determined the concentration of 7 legacy (phthalate) and 3 emerging (adipate, terephthalate, trimellitate) plasticizers and 21 microplastic polymer types. The most abundant microplastics were polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Plasticizers

SUBMITTER: Billings A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12713724 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature