In the last decade, the environmental effects of plastic pollution in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems have been reported worldwide, emphasizing the adverse effects of the generated microplastics after degradation under natural conditions. In particular, the distribution and accumulation of plastic waste at several sites along the West Coast of Norway have received special attention as “open lab” where large amounts of stranded marine litter have been buried over time and several ecological processes are still occurring. In this study, the occurrence and biological effects of the leachates generated from buried plastic waste on the so called Norwegian “plastic island” Lisla Lyngøyna have been investigated. Three soil layers have been collected at three different sampling sites containing high, medium, and low plastic pollution levels. The chemical composition of the leachates generated from soil samples was investigated using a chromatography system coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The outcomes point out the occurrence of different type of additives in the investigated samples. The results of chemical analyses were compared with the ecotoxicity measurements on the same samples using standard testing based on Daphnia spp, Selenastrum spp and three plant seeds species. Overall, medium-to-absent toxicity was scored by the battery of adopted ecotoxicity bioassays. This study points out the need of an integrated chemical, ecotoxicological and ecological approach to define both the environmental risk and the appropriate action toward a sustainable management of plastic pollution.

Primary Presenter: Alessio Gomiero, Norwegian Research Centre (algo@norceresearch.no)

Authors:

Adrian Jaén-Gil, Norwegian Research Centre  ()

Veslemøy Navrestad, Norwegian Research Centre   ()

Gidske Andersen, University of Bergen  ()

Emanuela Frapiccini, CNR IRBIM Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies  ()

Lúcia Santos, Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA)  ()

Farhan Khan, Norwegian Research Centre  ()

Alessio Gomiero, Norwegian Research Centre  ()