Marine plastics are one of the most common and persistent pollutants in ocean waters and beaches worldwide and are estimated to be present between 60-95% in the marine environment. Plastic marine debris may pose a threat to aquatic life as many plastics contain endocrine-disrupting compounds including nonylphenol, bisphenol A and various phthalates, and have been shown to adsorb common persistent organic pollutants. Plastic samples recovered from the North Pacific Gyre (NPG) along with UV-irradiated virgin plastic (UVP) and non-irradiated virgin plastic (VP) were allowed to reside in saltwater for 30 days under natural sunlight. Following solid phase extraction, samples were fractionated with sequential methanol elution from 10-100% and evaluated using in vitro assays assessing estrogen receptor (ER) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activities. Extracts were also evaluated using in vivo endpoints within juvenile fish to evaluate ER (vitellogenin-VTG) and AhR (Cytochrome P450 1A-CYP1A). Estradiol equivalence (EEQ) values were primarily localized in the 70% methanol fraction and were 4.9, 94.0 ng/L and 3.1, for NPG, UVP and VP, respectively. TEQ analysis for AhR indicated highest activity in the 90% methanol elution with greater activity in NPG than in VP or and UVP (TEQ = 385.27 ng/L, ND and ND, respectively). After Larval medaka (3 dph) were exposed to 0.01% methanol plastic extracts for 5 days, CYP1A mRNA was induced 28.9-fold in plastic obtained from the NPG relative to controls (p=0.011, ANOVA, Dunnett’s test). However, UVP and VP showed no significant differences. Analytical chemistry analyses indicated TEQ concentrations of co-planar PCBs of 34.1 ng/L in the 90% fraction of NPG plastics, and &lt;1.0 ng/L in all other fractions and plastic types. VTG induction was primarily observed in the UVP (6.9-fold, p=0.012, ANOVA, Dunnett’s test) suggesting that weathering of new plastics may release estrogenic compounds. These results indicated that weathered plastic from the Pacific Gyre likely had adsorbed ligands for AhR and that UV treatment of plastics may release ER agonists that produce in vivo responses in fish.

Biological and chemical activities of extracts from plastics collected from the North Pacific Gyre and plastics treated with UV-light

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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