Antimony (Sb) widely occurs in plastics as a pigment and reaction residue and through the use and recycling of electronic material enriched in Sb as a flame retardant synergist. In this study, clean estuarine sediment has been contaminated by different microplastics prepared from pre-characterised samples of different types of plastic (including a rubber) containing a range of Sb concentrations (256–47,600 μg g⁻¹). Sediment-plastic mixtures in a mass ratio of 100:1 were subject to 6-h extractions in seawater and in seawater solutions of a protein (bovine serum albumin; BSA) and a surfactant (taurocholic acid; TA) that mimic the digestive conditions of coastal deposit-feeding invertebrates. Most time-courses for Sb mobilisation could be defined by a second-order diffusion equation, with rate constants ranging from 44.6 to 0.0216 (μg g⁻¹)⁻¹ min⁻¹. Bioaccessibilities, defined as maximum extractable concentrations throughout each time course relative to total Sb content, ranged from <0.01% for a polycarbonate impregnated with Sb as a synergist exposed to all solutions, to >1% for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene containing a Sb-based colour pigment exposed to solutions of BSA and TA and recycled industrial polyethylene exposed to BSA solution. The potential for Sb to bioaccumulate or elicit a toxic effect is unknown but it is predicted that communities of deposit-feeders could mobilise significant quantities of Sb in sediment contaminated by microplastics through bioturbation and digestion.

Transformation from natural forests to planted forests in tropical regions is an expanding global phenomenon causing major modifications of land cover and soil properties, e.g. soil organic carbon (SOC). This study investigated accumulations of POPs in soils under eucalyptus and rubber forests as compared with adjacent natural forests on Hainan Island, China. Results showed that due to the greater forest filter effect and the higher SOC, the natural forest have accumulated larger amounts of POPs in the top 20 cm soil. Based on correlation and air-soil equilibrium analysis, we highlighted the importance of SOC in the distribution of POPs. It is assumed that the elevated mobility of POPs in the planted forests was caused by greater loss of SOC and extensive leaching in the soil profile. This suggests that a better understanding of global POPs fate should take into consideration the role of planted forests.

Single- and bi-solute sorption of organic compounds [1,3-dichlorbenzene (DCB), 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP)] on ground tire rubber and its chars was studied. The chars were prepared by pyrolyzing tire rubber at different temperatures (200–800 °C). Their surface area, aromaticity and hydrophobicity increase greatly with pyrolytic temperature, and the polymeric phase is partly converted into a condensed phase. The sorption of DNB and DCP increases with pyrolytic temperature and is characterized by a transition from a partition dominant to an adsorption dominant process. However, the sorption of DCB linearly decreases with the pyrolytic temperature. The enhanced adsorption of DNB and DCP on carbonized phase is primarily attributed to nonhydrophobic interactions such as π–π electron-donor–acceptor interactions and/or H bonding. The higher partition of DCB to polymeric phase is attributed to its high hydrophobicity. Competitive sorption between DCB and DCP on the tire chars is highly dependent on dissociation of the latter.

Many communities around the country are undergoing contentious battles over the installation of artificial turf. Opponents are concerned about exposure to hazardous chemicals leaching from the crumb rubber cushioning fill made of recycled tires, the plastic carpet, and other synthetic components. Numerous studies have shown that chemicals identified in artificial turf, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors. However, few studies have looked directly at health outcomes of exposure to these chemicals in the context of artificial turf. Ecotoxicology studies in invertebrates exposed to crumb rubber have identified risks to organisms whose habitats have been contaminated by artificial turf. Chicken eggs injected with crumb rubber leachate also showed impaired development and endocrine disruption. The only human epidemiology studies conducted related to artificial turf have been highly limited in design, focusing on cancer incidence. In addition, government agencies have begun their own risk assessment studies to aid community decisions. Additional studies in in vitro and in vivo translational models, ecotoxicological systems, and human epidemiology are strongly needed to consider exposure from both field use and runoff, components other than crumb rubber, sensitive windows of development, and additional physiological endpoints. Identification of potential health effects from exposures due to spending time at artificial turf fields and adjacent environments that may be contaminated by runoff will aid in risk assessment and community decision making on the use of artificial turf.

A recently identified chemical, 2-((4-Methylpentan-2-yl)amino)-5-(phenylamino)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (6PPD-quinone; 6PPD-Q), is a transformation product of an additive used in the manufacture of tire rubber and causes acute lethality in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in urban watersheds. Despite its potential presence and ecotoxicity in receiving waters worldwide, information on the occurrence and fate of 6PPD-Q is limited. Here, we investigated the concentrations of 6PPD-Q and its parent chemical, 6PPD, in road dust collected from arterial and residential roads in Tokyo, Japan from May to October 2021. 6PPD-Q concentrations were highest from May to June, when atmospheric ozone concentrations are the highest in Japan; a correlation between 6PPD-Q and photochemical oxidants, as an alternative to ozone, corroborated this finding. We also found that 6PPD-Q concentrations at photochemical oxidant concentrations ranging from 35 to 47 ppbv were higher in dust collected from roads with high traffic volumes (i.e., arterial roads; median: 8.6 μg/g-OC) than in dust collected from roads with lower traffic volumes (i.e., residential roads; median: 6.3 μg/g-OC), indicating that 6PPD-Q is generated from traffic-related sources. We also found that 6PPD-Q was leached from dust particles within a few hours, with a log partitioning coefficient between organic carbon and water (KOC) of 3.2–3.5. The present results will help to understand the environmental occurrence, fate, and behavior of 6PPD-Q.

This study represents the first quantitative global prediction of the mass distribution of six widespread polymers, plus plastic fibers and rubber across four environmental compartments and 11 sub-compartments. The approach used probabilistic material flow analysis for 2015, with model input values and transfer coefficients between compartments taken from literature. We estimated that 3.2 ± 1.8 Mt/year of polyethylene, 1.3 ± 0.8 Mt/year of polypropylene, 0.5 ± 0.3 Mt/year of polystyrene, 0.3 ± 0.15 Mt/year of polyvinyl chloride, 1.6 ± 0.9 Mt/year of polyethylene terephthalate and 2.4 ± 1.2 Mt/year of plastic fibers enter the environment. Combining all plastic, including rubber, 4.9 ± 1.3, 4.8 ± 1.9 and 1.8 ± 1.2 Mt/year accumulated in the soil, ocean, and freshwater, respectively. Urban soils and ocean shorelines were predicted as hotspots for plastic accumulation, accounting for 33% and 25% of total plastic, respectively. The floor of freshwater systems and the ocean were predicted as hotspots for high density plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride and plastic fibers. Furthermore, 59% of environmental rubber was predicted to accumulate in soil. The findings of this study provide baseline data for quantifying plastic transport and accumulation, which can inform future ecotoxicity studies and risk assessments, as well as targeting efforts to mitigate plastic pollution.

Air pollution constitutes the greatest environmental threat to human health in the European Union. In Poland, the emission of particulate matter and harmful gases originating from local coal based boiler plants and the combustion of fuels in residential heating appliances is a considerable source of air pollution. The combustion of fuel in home furnaces is inefficient due to the use of cheap fuels of low heating parameters and the frequent addition of waste. For the purpose of the research, deciduous tree wood pellets were selected as the basic fuel with the admixture of plastic waste, rubber, waste paper, wood residues, diapers, textile waste, multi-material packaging, construction waste, biomass and alternative fuel (RDF). Examining ash samples to confirm the practices of combusting or co-combusting waste materials in heating appliances is considered to be one of the most reliable detection methods; however, the results of direct research require further data processing. The application of hierarchical clustering analysis to the obtained results arranged into a matrix enabled in a simple way to demonstrate the similarities between the examined samples of fuel and the samples of fuel mixed with waste materials in the parameters space as well as to analyze the similarities among the measured parameters (the content of particular elements in ash) in the space of the examined samples. The application of chemometric methods for the purpose of identifying the combusted fuels, and, in particular the co-combusted waste complements the currently used monitoring tools which control the use of low quality fuels or the combustion of waste of different origin.

In general, tire tread rubber compounds contain oleamide for improvement of manufacturing processibility, mold release characterization, and abrasion resistance. Tire tread wear particles (TWPs) are one of major contributors to microplastic emissions. In this study, a novel analytical method for quantification of TWP in microparticles produced on the road (road dust, MPRs) was developed by employing oleamide as a new marker. MPRs were collected at bus stops in autumn, winter, and summer seasons. MPRs of 38–63, 63–106, 106–212, and 212–500 μm obtained by size separation were employed for the analysis. Rubber components for bus and passenger car tire tread compounds were identified using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Oleamide was extracted from the MPRs with acetone and was identified using GC/MS. The oleamide concentration was analyzed using GC equipped with flame ionization detector (FID). The TWP contents of the MPRs were determined using the oleamide concentrations and the reference compound formulations. In order to reduce the sampling errors, each experiment was carried out five times and the results were averaged. The TWP contents of the MPRs were 1.4–4.7 wt% and were different according to the sampling seasons and places. The TWP contents were increased by increasing the traffic volume and the temperature.

The presence of microplastics in the environment is currently receiving a lot of attention. Rubber particles from tire wear have been estimated in several mass emission inventories to be a major contributor to the total microplastic release. This work used dynamic probabilistic material flow analysis to quantify the flows of rubber particles from tires to roads and further onto soils and surface waters of Switzerland. The model considered the whole life-cycle of tires from import over the use phase to the end-of-life and the re-use of scrap tires. Uncertainties of model parameters and data variability were considered by using a probabilistic approach. Mass flows onto soils and through road drainage by both uncontrolled dispersal and engineered systems are considered. In addition, the release of rubber from artificial turfs was included. The accumulation of rubber particles in the environment was quantified over the time frame from 1988 to 2018. The results show that in 2018, 1.29 ± 0.45 kg/capita of rubber was emitted from tire wear (97%) and rubber granules (3%). Street cleaning and waste water treatment removed around 26% of this rubber mass before finally reaching the receiving environmental compartment, resulting in an effective input of 0.96 ± 0.35 kg/capita of rubber in 2018 into the natural environment. Most of this mass (74%) was deposited on roadside soils (up to 5 m distance from road), 22% flowed into surface waters and the remaining part (4%) was emitted to soils. The dynamic modeling showed an increase of the input into the environment by about 10% from 1990 to 2018. The ban of sewage sludge application on soils resulted in a marked decrease in the amount transferred to soils after the year 2000. In total, 219 ± 22 ktonnes of rubber particles have accumulated in the environment since 1988 in Switzerland.

Microplastic (MP) contamination is ubiquitous in the environment and many species worldwide have been shown to contain MP. The ecological impact of MP pollution is still unknown, thus there is an urgent need for more knowledge. One key task is to identify species suitable as sentinels for monitoring in key eco-compartments, such as coastal waters. In Norway, mussels (Mytilus spp.) have been monitored for hazardous contaminants through OSPAR since 1981. Norway has the longest coastline in Europe and adding MP to the Norwegian Mussel Watch is therefore important in a European and global context. The present study reports MP data in mussels (332 specimens) collected from multiple sites (n = 15) spanning the whole Norwegian coastline. MPs were detected at all locations, except at one site on the west coast. Among the most surprising findings, mussels from the Barents Sea coastline in the Finnmark region, contained significantly more MPs than mussels from most of the southern part of the country, despite the latter sites being located much closer to major urban areas. Only mussels from a site located very close to Oslo, the capital, contained levels similar to those observed in the remote site in Finnmark. In total an average of 1.5 (±2.3) particles ind⁻¹ and 0.97 (±2.61) particles w.w. g⁻¹ was found. The most common MPs were <1 mm in size, and fibres accounted for 83% of particles identified, although there was inter-site variability. Thirteen different polymeric groups were identified; cellulosic being the most common and black rubbery particles being the second. This study suggests Mytilus spp. are suitable for semi-quantitative and qualitatively monitoring of MPs in coastal waters. However, some uncertainties remain including mussel size as a confounding factor that may influence ingestion, the role of depuration and other fate related processes, and this call for further research.