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A critical review on the evaluation of toxicity and ecological risk assessment of plastics in the marine environment

Abstract

The increasing production of plastics together with the insufficient waste management has led to massive pollution by plastic debris in the marine environment. Contrary to other known pollutants, plastic has the potential to induce three types of toxic effects: physical (e.g intestinal injuries), chemical (e.g leaching of toxic additives) and biological (e.g transfer of pathogenic microorganisms). This critical review questions our capability to give an effective ecological risk assessment, based on an ever-growing number of scientific articles in the last two decades acknowledging toxic effects at all levels of biological integration, from the molecular to the population level. Numerous biases in terms of concentration, size, shape, composition and microbial colonization revealed how toxicity and ecotoxicity tests are still not adapted to this peculiar pollutant. Suggestions to improve the relevance of plastic toxicity studies and standards are disclosed with a view to support future appropriate legislation.

 

Graphical Abstract



Highlignts

  • Recurrent toxic effects of plastic debris seen from molecular to population levels.
  • Tested conditions (concentration, type, size, shape) lack environmental relevancy.
  • Environmental studies on plastic debris are scarce.
  • Actual toxicity standards are not adapted to plastic.

Reference

David Leistenschneider, Adèle Wolinski, Jingguang Cheng, Alexandra ter Halle, Guillaume Duflos, Arnaud Huvet, Ika Paul-Pont, Franck Lartaud, François Galgani, Édouard Lavergne, Anne-Leila Meistertzheim, Jean-François Ghiglione, A critical review on the evaluation of toxicity and ecological risk assessment of plastics in the marine environment, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 896, 2023

Read the paper, published in Open Access
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164955

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Plastik Panic in the ocean: the exhibition facing the harbor

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Thursday 29 April 2021 was inaugurated the exhibition “Plastik Panic in the Ocean”, in the presence of three vice-presidents of Brest Métropole, members of LEMAR and the scientific mediation team of Océanopolis.

This exhibition of 16 large-format photographs has been installed on the Promenade du Moulin Blanc, outside Océanopolis. Free of charge and accessible to all walkers, it will remain visible, facing the most beautiful harbour in the world, that of Brest of course, until 7 November 2021.

 

From left to right: Ika PAUL-PONT, Yohann NEDELEC (vice-president of Brest métropole in charge of major projects), Arnaud HUVET, Tristan FOVEAU (vice-president of Brest métropole in charge of sustainable waste management), Laurent PERON (vice-president of Brest métropole in charge of the coast) and Erwan AMICE.

 

Combining scientific and artistic contributions, the aim of the exhibition is to raise awareness among as wide a public as possible of the problems of plastic pollution in our oceans and to support actions in favour of sober use and responsible consumption. The photographs on display show this pollution on our coastline, from the macro to the micro-waste, we follow the scientists from the sampling to the laboratory and end up with concrete solutions and ways to act. This scientific mediation and awareness-raising initiative is part of the objectives of the Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP) project.

This exhibition is the result of a partnership between members of LEMAR and the scientific mediation teams of Océanopolis, with the support of Brest-Métropôle. We learned of the sudden death of its initiator, Anne Rognant a few days before this inauguration. We would like to pay tribute here to the inspiring woman she was, and to her immeasurable work for the sharing of knowledge.

<Design and production : Océanopolis & Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environnement Marin (LEMAR)
Photographs: © Erwan Amice / CNRS – © Sébastien Hervé / UBO – © Ifremer / Stephane Lesbats – © Esther Nonnonhou / Le Mans Université – © Maria-Luisa PEDROTTI / Marie-Emmanuelle KERROS / Groupe IMME / LOV / CNRS Photothèque – © Cyril FRESILLON / OOV / LOV / CNRS Photothèque
Text: Ika Paul-Pont (CNRS), Arnaud Huvet (Ifremer), Sébastien Hervé (UBO), Erwan Amice (CNRS), Anne Rognant (Océanopolis), Tristan Hatin (Océanopolis), Lionel Feuillassier (Océanopolis)

 

More information on the Océanopolis website

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Ika Paul-Pont, CNRS Bronze medal 2019

With her colleagues from the PANORAMA team, and especially Arnaud HUVET, Ifremer researcher at LEMAR, their work on micro and nano-plastics is among the most cited in our laboratory.

Visit her page on Google Scholar.

See here her personnal page on our site to access her current projects, and click here to read her interview ‘in French) in IUEM’s letter of April 2019.

In 2018 her work was the subject of an article in Sciences-Ouest (in French also), in a special report on microplastics :

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Ika Paul-Pont is researcher in marine ecotoxicology at LEMAR

GDR “Polymers and Oceans”

GDR-plolymeres & Ocean

The environmental issues related to the presence of plastics are now unanimously recognized. The national (governments) and international (European Union, United Nations) institutions have taken action to better understand the consequences of the presence of these plastic debris in the environment and to try to reduce their releases

The mission of the GDR “Polymers and Oceans”, recently created under the aegis of the CNRS, is to federate the French scientific community (composed by chemists, physicists, biologists, ecologists, ecotoxicologists, oceanographers, economists and sociologists) working on the fate of plastics in the environment to support the emergence of multi-scale and new interdisciplinary research.

The main objectives of this GDR are:

  • to define the main scientific questions and methodological obstacles around this topic;
  • to structure very diverse scientific communities and facilitate the establishment of scientific and technical collaborations between disciplinary fields to support multidisciplinary approaches that are essential to meet the challenges of this topic;
  • to promote collaboration between academic research and industrial research/innovation in relation to competitiveness clusters (e.g. Brittany-Atlantic and Mediterranean MER Poles, IAR) and learned societies (e.g. SFP, SCF, GFP) ;
  • play an active role in the implementation of new experimental protocols to assess the fate of polymers in the aquatic environment ;
  • create an information exchange platform offering an open window to respond to the many requests from economic actors, the media, NGOs and politicians and influence institutional prospects ;
  • participate in the dissemination of scientific knowledge acquired through the organization of an annual national conference and thematic schools.

More information on the website of the first meetings of this GDR

Ika Paul-Pont and Arnaud Huvet are involved in the scientific council of this GDR.

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The mission of the GDR “Polymers and Oceans” is to federate and improve the visibility of the French scientific community involved in research on the fate of polymers in the aquatic environment.

Adaptive physiological and behavioural responses of organisms to multiple environmental stresses

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observation, experimentation and modelling

One of the great strengths of the PANORAMA team lies in the study of the physiological and behavioural responses of marine organisms to environmental constraints, whether of biotic or abiotic origin. The team strives to understand the effects of factors related to climate change (warming, acidification, hypoxia, nutritional constraints) and/or emerging pollutants on different species present mainly in coastal areas, in a monofactorial or multistress manner. In particular, it is developing approaches in ecotoxicology aimed at studying, on different models, the impact of micro- and nanoplastics, for which our laboratory is a precursor, or that of toxic microalgae, which also represents one of the laboratory’s strengths, or even that of diffuse pollution. We have exceptional structures and experimental and observation means that allow us to monitor the effect of these disturbances and contaminants, in large volumes and over the entire life cycle of the organisms: gametes, embryos, larvae, juveniles and adults. Thanks to this, we also understand the inter- and trans-generational effects of contaminants, pollutants, toxic microalgae and their toxins. Our experimental approaches are complemented by parallel studies in the natural environment where observational monitoring (e.g. monitoring of toxic microalgae blooms) and in situ experiments (e.g. caging experiments) are carried out. Our laboratory is very present in Brest, in the framework of sustained collaborations with CEDRE and ANSES, but also at the national level, with active participation in the GdR Aquatic Ecotoxicology, and the animation of the GdR PHYCOTOX and the GdR “Polymers and Oceans”. Our approach integrates all levels of biological organisation thanks to the new “omics” approaches in ecotoxicology, in association with cell biology, histology and eco-physiology measurements. We complete this coupling of observation and experimentation with modelling in conjunction with the “Coupling” Transverse Axis and the modellers of the DISCOVERY team.

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Our approaches in ecotoxicology consider the impact on marine organisms of emerging pollutants, toxic micro-algae, but also the effects of diffuse pollution and multi-stress

Tag Archive for: microplastiques

Tag Archive for: microplastiques

MicroCO2sme

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HERITAGe

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MICROLAG

MicroLag
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MICROPLASTIC2

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NANOPLASTICS

MP digestive gut oyster
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Copyright : Laboratoire LEMAR- 2018

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