PhD Thesis Defense by Gabriella Francesca Schirinzi from Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry (ENFOCHEM) on 9th June, online.
Title: Chemical and ecotoxicological assessment of microplastics and emerging risks in the coastal environments
Speaker: Gabriella Francesca Schirinzi (IDAEA-CSIC)
IDAEA-CSIC Directors: Dra Marinella Farré and Prof. Damià Barceló Cullerès
UB Tutor: Dr. Francisco Javier Santos Vicente
Date: Tuesday, 9th June 2020
Time: 11.00 a.m.
More information about the online Thesis Defense.
Abstract
In recent decades, global plastics production and consumption have continued to increase. Although many policy strategies on waste prevention and recycling have been implemented, much of the plastic waste is dispersed in nature. In general, the presence of waste in the aquatic environment is a serious environmental problem, well known as marine litter, and is responsible for environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems at the ocean and regional level and the dominant category of waste is plastics. Due to their chemical persistence, buoyancy and increased sources, plastic objects and their fragments (known as “microplastics” (MPLs) and “nanoplastics” (NPLs)) are omnipresent in the marine environment, especially in closed basins such as the Mediterranean Sea. Nowadays, given the increasing levels of plastic pollution in marine environments, MPLs/NPLs are considered emerging pollutants that can pose a serious threat to marine ecology and human health. Despite constant scientific progress, there are several gaps in the knowledge on the fate, distribution, behaviour and effects of MPLs/NPLs.
In this context, this doctoral thesis aimed to expand knowledge on plastic pollution in coastal environments and its emerging risks. The general objectives were focused on integrated studies of the presence and fate of plastic pollution in the marine environment. In particular, the fluvial transport of macroplastics near the metropolitan area of Barcelona and the occurrence and behaviour of micro(nano)plastic particles in estuarine and coastal waters of the north-western Mediterranean Sea were assessed. For this purpose, analytical methods were developed to quantify and identify the behaviour of polymers and their co-contaminants in water samples. The results showed the importance of studying the estuarine areas to obtain valuable information on the (micro)plastics that end up in the marine system. Afterwards, the ecotoxicological consequences of plastic fragments on the environment and human health were evaluated. A high frequency of plastics was confirmed in a Mediterranean sentinel species, resulting from local fishing gear. Finally, the cytotoxic effects of nanoplastics have been proven by cytotoxic assays in human cells.
