Ocean contamination by plastics is a global issue. Although ingestion of plastic debris by sea turtles has been widely documented, contamination by microplastics (<5mm) is poorly known and likely to be under-reported. We developed a microplastic extraction protocol for examining green turtle (Chelonia mydas) chyme, which is multifarious in nature, by modifying and combining pre-established methods used to separate microplastics from organic matter and sediments. This protocol consists of visual inspection, nitric acid digestion, emulsification of residual fat, density separation, and chemical identification by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This protocol enables the extraction of polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, (aminoethyl) polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride microplastics >100μm. Two macroplastics and seven microplastics (two plastic paint chips and five synthetic fabric particles) were isolated from subsamples of two green turtles. Our results highlight the need for more research towards understanding the impact of microplastics on these threatened marine reptiles.

The UK Marine Management Organisation (MMO) tasked the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) with reviewing the current UK dispersant efficacy testing procedures. The aim was to identify possibilities to increase standardisation, improve health and safety performance and explore harmonisation possibilities with international dispersant efficacy testing procedures. The US EPA ‘Baffled Flask Test’ (BFT) was adopted, implemented and validated as a new standard method in the UK. The outputs from this study suggest that dispersant efficacy results from the adopted BFT test and the currently used protocol are in a similar range and results presented by the US EPA.As a result, the transition to the adopted BFT test will require minimal changes in the assessment of the results or reporting and increase harmonisation between tests used in the UK and North America.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are chemicals employed in human healthcare, veterinary, medical diagnosis, and cosmetics, which have increasingly polluted water sources. Extensive research has demonstrated constructed wetlands (CWs) technology as a low-cost but efficient approach for PPCPs removal. There has been a growing interest to better understand the degradation mechanisms of PPCPs in wetland cells. Data corroborated in this review show that these degradation mechanisms include photolytic degradation, adsorption, phytodegradation, and microbial degradation. Each of these degradation mechanisms performs differently in wetland cells. This review also highlights the lack of research works to quantify the contribution of these degradation mechanisms to the overall efficiency of CWs to remove PPCPs as a major bottleneck for further application of this technology. The ultimate goal is to apply and prioritize a suitable degradation mechanism for successfully eliminating corresponding PPCPs. This review, therefore, provides further insights to (i) elucidate the importance of these removal mechanisms, and (ii) quantify their contribution in overall PPCPs removal processes. This review aims to understand the importance and contribution of degradation mechanisms of PPCPs removal in constructed wetlands. RECENT FINDINGS: The degradation mechanisms of PPCPs in constructed wetlands depended on various conditions; yet, which factors are preferred? Furthermore, the number of research works, related to quantifying the contribution of degradation mechanisms, is limited. The hydrophobic/hydrophilic character, reflecting as log Kₒw (or log Dₒw), is the most commonly used. The photolytic degradation is appropriate with low and moderate hydrophobic values (log Dₒw from − 2.3 to 3). The role of adsorption is moderate, while it is more efficient with the higher hydrophobic compounds. The media is important for plant growth and micro-organism community development. The plant uptake is better for PPCPs with higher hydrophobicity (log Kₒw from 1 to 4). However, it is difficult to quantify their contribution and the number of related studies is limited.

Microplastics have adverse effects on marine life. This study examined the abundance and size of microplastics as well as their polymer types in the surface water and the bottom and beach sediments of Hiroshima Bay. The fragmentation process and sinking factors of foamed polystyrene (FPS) microplastics were also examined. Serious FPS pollution spread out not only in the beach sediments but also in the bottom sediments. The average size of FPS particles in the bottom sediments was significantly smaller than that of beached FPS particles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images suggest that large amounts of microsized or nanosized FPS fragments are likely to be generated from the margins of beached FPS microplastics. X-ray computed tomography images show that FPS microplastics from the bottom sediments had tunnel-like structures inside the particle. Based on these images, FPS microplastics in the bottom sediments were susceptible to biofouling and soil deposition.

Endocrine disrupting compound (EDC) contamination in food is a global concern. Concerning potential environmental and human health exposed to EDCs via food intake, an experiment was conducted on the selected EDCs concentration in the mariculture fish, Trachinotus blochii (golden pomfret), Lutjanus campechanus (snapper), and Lates calcarifer (sea bass) at Pulau Kukup, Johor. Mariculture activity at Pulau Kukup involves active export of fishes to Singapore and Indonesia. The recovery of BPA (bisphenol A), 4OP (4-octylphenol), and 4NP (4-nonylphenol) were 61.54%–93.00%, 16.79%–17.13%, and 61.24%–71.49%, respectively. Relatively high concentration of BPA was recorded in T. blochii (0.322ng/g), followed by L. calcarifer (0.124ng/g) and L. campechanus (0.023ng/g). Furthermore, 4OP and 4NP were detected only in T. blochii at concentrations of 0.084ng/g and 0.078ng/g, respectively. The results of the present study provide insights on monitoring and managing mariculture activity in relation to environmental protection and food safety.

Oil spill accidents occur with increasing frequency in the Chinese Bohai Sea because of the presence of extensive number of oil platforms and oil pipelines the Chinese Bohai region. An appropriate risk assessment for oil spill prevention and readiness is necessary. Risk assessment for the entire Chinese Bohai Sea based on a quantitative method is proposed. We created a hypothetical simulation of oil spill trajectories based on an oil spill model for 28 oil platforms in the Chinese Bohai region in 2010. Then, we mapped a risk index in the study areas based on a combination of oil spill trajectories and shoreline susceptibility data. Five high-risk areas were identified in the entire Chinese Bohai Sea. Detailed suggestions for prevention and readiness are described here. These results can help in developing a risk assessment of oil spills in the Chinese Bohai Sea and serve as a useful analytic tool for slick-related emergencies.

Numerical experiments using a 3D model of fine sediment transport in the Great Barrier Reef region indicate deposition of the bulk mass of catchment sediments from river plumes within a few tens of kilometres from river mouths. A very fine fraction of easily resuspended catchment sediment has a capacity to propagate over much greater distances reaching out into the mid-shelf and outer-shelf regions. The model suggests such particles, instrumental to the development of low density flocs in the marine environment, can play a critical role in altering optical properties of water masses over the shelf during wet years. The mid-term (4 year) impact of Great Barrier Reef catchments on the probability of suspended sediment concentration exceeding the ecologically significant trigger value of 2 mg/L is confined to inshore regions adjacent to river mouth locations.

This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of bacterial communities in intertidal sediments along the Yangtze Estuary and their responses to environmental factors. The results showed that bacterial abundance was significantly correlated with salinity, SO42− and total organic carbon, while bacterial diversity was significantly correlated with SO42− and total nitrogen. At different taxonomic levels, both the dominant taxa and their abundances varied among the eight samples, with Proteobacteria being the most dominant phylum in general. Cluster analysis revealed that the bacterial community structure was influenced by river runoff and sewerage discharge. Moreover, SO42−, salinity and total phosphorus were the vital environmental factors that influenced the bacterial community structure. Quantitative PCR and sequencing of sulphate-reducing bacteria indicated that the sulphate reduction process occurs frequently in intertidal sediments. These findings are important to understand the microbial ecology and biogeochemical cycles in estuarine environments.

A study on Trace Elements (TE) from sea urchin gonads has been conducted in the western Mediterranean Sea. Contamination data were used to determine a Trace Method Pollution Index (TEPI). TE concentrations varied considerably depending on the location of the sampling stations. The results showed that five trace elements (Zn, Fe, As, Al, Cu) are ubiquitous. The geographical area considered (Corsica) represents an important range of environmental conditions and types of pressure that can be found in the western Mediterranean Sea. TEPI was used to classify the studied sites according to their degree of contamination and allowed reliable comparison of TE contamination between local and international sites. TE contamination of the western Mediterranean Sea displayed a north-to-south gradient, from the Italian coasts down through the insular Corsican coasts to the north African littoral. Due to the increasing environmental pressure on the Mediterranean Sea, a regular monitoring of TE levels in marine organisms is necessary to prevent any further environmental deterioration.

Marine litter is a major source of pollution in the Mediterranean basin, but despite legislative requirements, scant information is available for the ongoing assessment of this threat.Using higher size classes as proxy for litter distribution, this study gave a synoptic estimation of the amount, composition, and distribution of floating macro-litter in the Mediterranean. The average amount of macro-litter was in a range of 2–5items/km2, with the highest in the Adriatic basin. Seasonal patterns were present in almost all study areas and were significant in the Ligurian Sea, Sardinian-Balearic basin, and Central Tyrrhenian Sea. Plastic accounted for >80% of litter in all areas and seasons, with the highest proportion in the Adriatic Sea, Ligurian Sea, and Sicilian-Sardinian Channels; in the Bonifacio Strait, Tyrrhenian Sea, and Sardinian-Balearic basin, litter composition was instead more diverse. Spatial analysis suggested an almost homogeneous distribution of litter without evident regular aggregation zones.