To clarify the degree of styrene origomer (SOs) contamination generate form drifting polystyrene (PS) , 5.0g beach sand from each of more than 26 countries throughout the world and 2.5L water 4,000 samples from coastlines and open oceans were examined. Following sample extraction with a dichloromethane on site, each sample was analyzed by GC/MS. SOs does not exist naturally in oceans and is likely discharged as a PS-product from everyday life situations. The detection of SOs in oceans maybe explained based on the following: 1) Continual flow and accumulation of PS from land sources. 2) Gradual decomposition of PS in the ocean. 3) Elution of SOs from debris PS and its adsorption into seawater and subsequently coastal regions. Two possible pathways for contamination from PS in oceans maybe the following: One is PS degradation in ocean and the other, SOs generated during resin pellet or commercial product production PS matrices, by the elution of these products drifting in the ocean. Degradation products from PS on coastlines, quite likely the sources of SOs, may then wash out into oceans. There is also the possibility that some PS and plastic may remain buried in sand for considerably long periods of time. PS degradation would may likely occur owing to the presence of SOs rather than by elution since SOs in sand was found quite significantly higher, 600 times as much, as in open ocean water. Assuming the volume of world seawater to be 1.4×1021 L and SOs 0.1µg L-1 for deep water contamination, 1.4 billion metric tons SOs would likely be generated from 875,000 metric tons of drifting/waste PS throughout world oceans.

Drifting plastics as outstanding sources of serious ocean pollution

2019 Spring National Meeting

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