Beaches are social-ecological systems that provide several services improving human well-being. However, as one of the major coastal interfaces they are subject to plastic pollution, one of the most significant global environmental threats at present. For the first time for Uruguayan beaches, this study assessed and quantified the accumulation of plastic and microplastic debris on sandy beaches of the major touristic destination Punta del Este during the austral spring of 2013. Aiming to provide valuable information for decision-making, we performed a detailed analysis of plastic debris, their eventual transport pathways to the coast (from land and sea), and the associated persistent pollutants. The results indicated that the smallest size fractions (<20 mm) were the dominant size range, with fragments and resin pellets as types with the highest number of items. PAHs and PCBs were found in plastic debris, and their levels did not differ from baseline values reported for similar locations. The abundance of plastic debris was significantly and positively correlated with both the presence of possible land-based sources (e.g. storm-water drains, beach bars, beach access, car parking, and roads), and dissipative beach conditions. The analysis of coastal currents suggested some potential deposition areas along Punta del Este, and particularly for resin pellets, although modeling was not conclusive. From a local management point of view, the development and use of indices that allow predicting trends in the accumulation of plastic debris would be critically useful. The time dimension (e.g. seasonal) should also be considered for this threat, being crucial for locations such as Uruguay, where the use of beaches increases significantly during the summer. This first diagnosis aims to generate scientific baseline, necessary for improved management of plastic litter on beaches and their watersheds.

Bismuth is a heavy metal whose biogeochemical behaviour in the marine environment is poorly defined. In this study, we exposed three different species of macroalga (the chlorophyte, Ulva lactuca, the phaeophyte, Fucus vesiculosus, and the rhodophyte, Chondrus crispus) to different concentrations of Bi (up to 50 μg L⁻¹) under controlled, laboratory conditions. After a period of 48-h, the phytotoxicity of Bi was measured in terms of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching, and adsorption and internalisation of Bi determined by ICP after EDTA extraction and acid digestion, respectively. For all algae, both the internalisation and total accumulation of Bi were proportional to the concentration of aqueous metal. Total accumulation followed the order: F. vesiculosus > C. crispus > U. lactuca; with respective accumulation factors of about 4200, 1700 and 600 L kg⁻¹. Greatest internalisation (about 33% of total accumulated Bi) was exhibited by C. crispus, the only macroalga to display a phytotoxic response in the exposures. A comparison of the present results with those reported in the literature suggests that Bi accumulation by macroalgae is significantly lower than its accumulation by marine plankton (volume concentration factors of 10⁵ to 10⁷), and that the phytotoxicity of Bi is low relative to other heavy metals like Ag and Tl.

Iron reduction is one of the important organic matter (OM) mineralization pathway in sediments. Here we investigated the rates and the relative contribution of iron reduction to OM mineralization in Zhushan bay (ZSB, cyanobacterial bloom biomass (CBB)-dominated habitats) and East Taihu Lake (ETL, submerged macrophypes (SM)-dominated habitats) of Lake Taihu, China. Anaerobic microcosm incubation revealed that the rate of iron reduction at ZSB (4.42 μmol cm−3 d−1) in summer was almost 1.5 times higher than at ETL (3.13 μmol cm−3 d−1). Iron reduction accounted for 66.5% (ZSB) and 31.8% (ETL) of total anaerobic carbon mineralization, respectively. No detectable methanogenesis was found at ZSB, while methanogenesis was responsible for 16.7% of total anaerobic respiration in sediments of ETL. Geochemical analysis of solid phase constituents indicated that ZSB surface sediments experienced highly oxidizing conditions with much higher amorphous Fe(III) (71 mmol m−2) than ETL (11 mmol m−2). Conversely, AVS inventories at ETL (38 mmol m−2) were up to 30 times higher than at ZSB (1.27 mmol m−2), indicating significant sulfate reduction in sediments of ETL. Overall results suggested that varying carbon sources and distinct geochemical characterizations of the sediments in contrasting habitats significantly influenced the rate of iron reduction and the pathway of C mineralization in a large freshwater lake.

Low birth weight (<2500 g) (LBW), premature birth (<37 weeks of gestation) (PB), and late foetal death (<24 h of life) (LFD) are causes of perinatal morbi-mortality, with short- and long-term social and economic health impacts. This study sought to identify gestational windows of susceptibility during pregnancy and to analyse and quantify the impact of different air pollutants, noise and temperature on the adverse birth outcomes.Time-series study to assess the impact of mean daily PM2.5, NO2 and O3 (μg/m3), mean daily diurnal (Leqd) and nocturnal (Leqn) noise levels (dB(A)), maximum and minimum daily temperatures (°C) on the number of births with LBW, PB or LFD in Madrid across the period 2001–2009. We controlled for linear trend, seasonality and autoregression. Poisson regression models were fitted for quantification of the results. The final models were expressed as relative risk (RR) and population attributable risk (PAR).Leqd was observed to have the following impacts in LBW: at onset of gestation, in the second trimester and in the week of birth itself. NO2 had an impact in the second trimester. In the case of PB, the following: Leqd in the second trimester, Leqn in the week before birth and PM2.5 in the second trimester. In the case of LFD, impacts were observed for both PM2.5 in the third trimester, and minimum temperature. O3 proved significant in the first trimester for LBW and PB, and in the second trimester for LFD.Pollutants concentrations, noise and temperature influenced the weekly average of new-borns with LBW, PB and LFD in Madrid. Special note should be taken of the effect of diurnal noise on LBW across the entire pregnancy. The exposure of pregnant population to the environmental factors analysed should therefore be controlled with a view to reducing perinatal morbi-mortality.

The spatial distributions and fates of selected legacy and emerging compounds were investigated and compared in surface sediments sampled along the Adriatic mud-wedge and in deep-sea regions from the southern Adriatic basin. Results indicated that the concentrations of legacy contaminants (PAHs, PCBs and DDTs) and emerging contaminants (tonalide, galaxolide, EHMC, octocrylene, BP3 and NP) ranged from 0.1 to 572 ng g−1 and from <LOD to 40.7 ng g−1, respectively. In general, higher concentrations and estimated burdens were detected in the northern Adriatic, highlighting the importance of the Po River as the major contributor for the inputs of legacy and emerging contaminants to sediments in the Adriatic Sea. Nevertheless, the prevalence of some UV filters and fragrances in the central and southern Adriatic indicates that the proximity to tourist areas and WWTPs discharges seems to affect the distribution of those compounds. The accumulation of contaminants in the deep-sea areas supports the inference that this region may act as an important repository for contaminants within the Adriatic Sea. Estimated annual contaminant accumulation reveals that both, legacy and emerging contaminants accumulate preferentially in the northern Adriatic (40–60% of the total annual contaminant accumulation), where the presence of legacy, and to a lesser extent emerging contaminants, are likely to pose an immediate or long-term hazard to resident biota.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmosphere can partition into agricultural crops, which poses a potential risk to human health through the food chain. In this study, controlled chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the kinetic uptake of anthracene (Ant), phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Fla) and pyrene (Pyr), individually or as a mixture, by the leaf surfaces of living soybean and corn seedlings using the excitation-emission matrix (EEM) coupled with three-way parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and n-way partial least squares (n-PLS). The four selected PAHs achieved equilibrium between the air and the two living crop leaf surfaces over the 15-day monitoring period. Inter-species and inter-chemical variability existed in terms of the time required to achieve equilibrium, mass transfer coefficients (kAL) and the equilibrated adsorption capacity (EAC), which was mainly attributed to the different lg KOA values among the four PAHs and the variable leaf-wax content between the soybean and corn species. Compared with when the PAHs existed singly, the time required to achieve adsorption equilibrium was longer while the EAC was reduced for each of the four PAHs in a mixture, which was attributed to competitive adsorption among the coexisting components. These findings prove that the novel analytical method provides a novel platform for the in situ characterization of the environmental behaviors of multiple PAHs, with their spectra overlapping, between the air and plant skin. The coexistence of multiple PAHs in the air inhibits their individual uptake capacity by crop leaf skin, but increases the total adsorption of PAHs, potentially reducing crop security and increasing human health risk via the terrestrial food web.

Many lakes and rivers are enriched with high levels of suspended sediments (SPS). Denitrification occurring on suspended sediments (DSS) may play an important role in nitrogen removal in water columns with high SPS concentrations. Poyang Lake, with dramatic hydrologic variations, has high spatial and seasonal variation of SPS, and we hypothesized that DSS and nitrogen removal in this lake would vary similarly. DSS in Poyang Lake was determined by the traditional acetylene-inhibition method combined with a batch mode assay. Laboratory simulation experiments were also conducted to examine the factors controlling denitrification occurring on SPS. Seasonally, DSS rates at 15 sampling sites in Poyang Lake were 0.63 ± 0.24, 0.29 ± 0.17, 0.25 ± 0.18, and 0.52 ± 0.37 μmol N·L−1·d−1, respectively in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Spatially, average DSS rates were higher in the northern lake area, which is connected to the Yangtze River, than in the upstream and central lake area. Lowest DSS rates occurred in semi-closed bay and dish lakes. Spatial and seasonal variations of DSS rates were affected by a combination of factors, in which nitrate concentrations, SPS composition, and concentrations of organic-SPS were the most important. These influencing factors were seasonally dependent, with nitrate concentrations having stronger effects on DSS during wet seasons than dry seasons. Results from a multiple stepwise regression model also demonstrated that DSS tended to occur on fine particles (e.g., clay particles, <4 μm). Evaluation of annual nitrogen loss by DSS was estimated according to the seasonal water budget and DSS rates in Poyang Lake. The total nitrogen loss by DSS was estimated to be 10800 ± 6090 t, which accounted for 2.8–9.9% of the nitrogen input, and this proportion was comparable to nitrogen removal by sediment denitrification. This result confirms that DSS was an important nitrogen sink in this large, turbid lake.

The comet assay was used to study the DNA damage that was induced by dimethoate in the hemocyte cells of adult Chorthippus biguttulus grasshoppers (Insecta: Orthoptera) that originated from two sites with varying levels of pollution. The primary focus of the study was to examine whether continuous exposure to environmental stress can modify the effect of pesticides on genome stability. After three days of acclimation to laboratory conditions, the level of DNA damage in the hemocytes of Bow-winged grasshoppers was within a similar range in the insects from both areas. However, the level of DNA damage following dimethoate treatment was significantly higher in the insects from the reference area (Pogoria) than in the individuals from the heavily polluted location (Szopienice). Four hours after pesticide treatment, the Tail DNA (TDNA) in the hemocytes of the male and female specimens from Pogoria was as high as 75% and 50% respectively, whereas the values in males and females from Szopienice only reached 30% and 20%, respectively. A rapid decrease in DNA damage was observed in both populations 24 h after the pesticide application. The habitat of an insect (site), the administration of the dimethoate (treatment), and the period following the application of the pesticide (time), all significantly influenced the levels of DNA damage. No interactions related to TDNA were observed between the variables ‘sex’ and ‘treatment’. Similarly, the variable ‘sex’, when analyzed alongside ‘treatment’ and ‘site’ (the area from which the insects were collected), or ‘treatment’ and ‘time’ had no influence on TL. Exposure to dimethoate undoubtedly contributed to the formation of DNA damage in the hemocytes of adult C. biguttulus. However, the level of damage was clearly dependent on the place where the insects were captured.

The Antarctic continent is among the most pristine regions; yet various organic contaminants have been measured there routinely. Air and snow samples were collected during the austral spring (October–November, 2010) along the western Antarctic Peninsula and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to assess the relative importance of long-range transport versus local primary or secondary emissions. Highest concentrations of PCBs, PBDEs and DDTs were observed in the glacier’s snow sample, highlighting the importance of melting glaciers as a possible secondary source of legacy pollutants to the Antarctic. In the atmosphere, contaminants were mainly found in the vapor phase (>65%). Hexachlorobenzene (33.6 pg/m3), PCBs (11.6 pg/m3), heptachlor (5.64 pg/m3), PBDEs (4.22 pg/m3) and cis-chlordane (2.43 pg/m3) were the most abundant contaminants. In contrast to other compounds, PBDEs seem to have originated from local sources, possibly the research station itself. Gas-particle partitioning for analytes were better predicted using the adsorption partitioning model than an octanol-based absorption approach. Diffusive flux calculations indicated that net deposition is the dominant pathway for PBDEs and chlordanes, whereas re-volatilization from snow (during melting or metamorphosis) was observed for PCBs and some OCPs.

It has been hypothesised that, if ingested, plastic debris could act as vector for the transfer of chemical contaminants from seawater to organisms, yet modelling suggest that, in the natural environment, chemical transfer would be negligible compared to other routes of uptake. However, to date, the models have not incorporated consideration of the role of gut surfactants, or the influence of pH or temperature on desorption, whilst experimental work has shown that these factors can enhance desorption of sorbed contaminants several fold. Here, we modelled the transfer of sorbed organic contaminants dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), phenanthrene (Phe) and bis-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) from microscopic particles of polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) to a benthic invertebrate, a fish and a seabird using a one-compartment model OMEGA (Optimal Modelling for EcotoxicoloGical Applications) with different conditions of pH, temperature and gut surfactants. Environmental concentrations of contaminants at the bottom and the top of published ranges were considered, in combination with ingestion of either 1 or 5% by weight of plastic. For all organisms, the combined intake from food and water was the main route of exposure for Phe, DEHP and DDT with a negligible input from plastic. For the benthic invertebrate, predictions including the presence of contaminated plastic resulted in very small increases in the internal concentrations of DDT and DEHP, while the net change in the transfer of Phe was negligible. While there may be scenarios in which the presence of plastic makes a more important contribution, our modelling study suggests that ingestion of microplastic does not provide a quantitatively important additional pathway for the transfer of adsorbed chemicals from seawater to biota via the gut.