Assessing the impact of chronic and acute plastic pollution from construction activities and other anthropogenic sources: A case study from the coast of Antofagasta, Chile.

Autor: Zadjelovic V; Centro de Bioinnovación de Antofagasta (CBIA), Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta 1271155, Chile; Centre for Biotechnology & Bioengineering (CeBiB), Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: vinko.zadjelovic@uantof.cl., Wright RJ; Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada., Walker TR; School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada., Avalos V; Centro de Bioinnovación de Antofagasta (CBIA), Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta 1271155, Chile., Marín PE; Center for Advanced Study of Lithium and Industrial Minerals (CELiMIN) and Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Procesos de Minerales, Universidad de Antofagasta, Campus Coloso, Av. Universidad de Antofagasta, 02800 Antofagasta, Chile., Christie-Oleza JA; Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma 07122, Spain., Riquelme C; Centro de Bioinnovación de Antofagasta (CBIA), Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta 1271155, Chile.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2023 Oct; Vol. 195, pp. 115510. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 06.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115510
Abstrakt: Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue with far-reaching and not yet fully explored consequences. This study uncovered a significant source of plastic contamination arising from improper application and management of expanded polystyrene (EPS) utilised as expansion joints at a construction site near the coast of Antofagasta, Chile. Through meticulous field observations and calculations, we estimate that a staggering 82.9 million EPS spheres have the potential to be released into the environment from the 7.62 m 3 of this material used for the construction of this coastal promenade, constituting a chronic source of pollution. Despite the ongoing construction, we have already evidenced mechanical fragmentation and dispersion of EPS microplastic pollution in the surrounding natural environment. To our knowledge, this is the first study that documents misused construction materials contributing to plastic pollution. In addition to the EPS pollution, our findings reveal an alarming accumulation of litter - an acute pollution source - including plastic cups, bottles, carrier bags, and several other construction materials (e.g. plastic nets, films) that are exacerbating the pollution problems within the region and potentially endangering marine and terrestrial organisms. These observations highlight the urgent need for mitigating measures and intervention policies targeting construction-related plastic and microplastic pollution, along with a more robust regulatory framework for construction activities as well as adequate surveillance and enforcement.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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