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Plastics, particularly mesoplastics, dominate beach debris and act as carriers of hazardous chemicals, either initially present in plastics or absorbed from the surrounding environment. In this study, mesoplastics were collected from five beaches in the southern region of Spain to investigate their potential impact on marine life. In vitro assays employing fish liver cells (PLHC-1) were conducted to evaluate the toxicity of methanolic extracts derived from intact mesoplastics and after simulated photodegradation. LC-MS analysis of the methanolic extracts revealed the presence of organophosphate esters, phthalates, and phthalate alternatives. The extracts from photodegraded plastics generally showed higher cytotoxicity, ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), and genotoxicity (micronuclei formation) than those from intact mesoplastics. All the extracts induced EROD activity in PLHC-1 cells, indicating the presence of significant amounts of CYP1A inducers in beach mesoplastics. Thus, mesoplastics contain chemicals able to induce cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in PLHC-1 cells, and further photodegradation of mesoplastics facilitates the release of additional chemicals, increasing the overall toxicity. This work also highlights the usefulness of cell-based assays to better define the risks of plastic pollution.

Flame retardants (FRs) are widely used in consumer products including furniture foam and electronic equipment such as computers, monitors and TVs. Over time, FRs can easily migrate into the surrounding environments. Since brominated FRs (BFRs) has been determined of high concern due to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulation and potential toxicity, novel FRs have emerged. The present study was aimed at identifying and quantifying the indoor levels of 41 legacy and novel FRs, which include 20 OPFRs and 21 HFRs (8 PBDEs, 3 HBCDDs, 5 NBFRs and 5 DECs) in Tarragona Province (Catalonia, Spain). The results have confirmed the presence of both legacy and novel FRs in air and dust of homes, schools and offices. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first European study measuring OPFRs at office environments and also confirming the presence of the following OPFRs: TEP, TCIPP, T2IPPP, TPPO, DCP, TMCP and B4IPPPP in indoor air, even some of them at high levels. OPFRs in general and TCIPP in particular showed high concentrations in air (94,599 pg/m3 and 72,281 pg/m3, respectively) and dust (32,084 ng/g and 13,496 ng/g, respectively) samples collected in indoor environments. HBCDDs were found at high levels in dust (32,185 ng/g), whereas the presence of PBDEs and DECs were low in both matrices (<160 pg/m3 in air and <832 ng/g in dust). NBFRs showed higher levels than the two legacy FRs groups, which is supported by the current restrictions of these FRs (640 pg/m3 in air and 1291 ng/g in dust). Samples of schools had significantly lower levels of NBFRs, but significantly higher concentrations of HFRs in air than in home samples, while dust levels of HFRs were significantly lower than those in samples of offices. Regarding human health risks, the current assessment suggests that those derived from exposure to FRs were lower -although close- to assumable risks, evidencing the potential of FRs for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks, mainly due to the exposure to TC

Coloquio realizado después de la proyección del documental "Que inventen ellas: la mujer de ciencia y conocimiento en el cine español", realizado por Fernando del Blanco Rodríguez (CID-CSIC), y basado en el libro "En el ángulo ciego. Historia de la representación de la mujer de ciencia y conocimiento en el cine español (1896-2020)", del mismo autor. Los participantes fueron Ethel Eljarrat (directora IDAEA-CSIC), Carmen Vélez (Comisión Igualdad CID-CSIC) y Fernando del Blanco (bibliotecario CID-CSIC). Descarga el documental: https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/... Consigue el libro: https://bit.ly/46zT0Q8

Drinks are an essential part of human diet, which makes them a source of human exposure to plasticizers such as organophosphate esters (OPEs). The current study provides new information about sixteen OPE levels in 75 different samples (tap water, packed water, cola drinks, juice, wine and hot drinks). Tap water mean levels (40.9 ng/L) were statistically higher than packed water mean levels (4.82 ng/L), mainly due to the contribution of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) that may come from PVC water pipes. Over 90% of samples presented at least one OPE, where regular cola drinks had the highest mean concentrations (2876 ng/L). There was a significantly higher presence of OPEs in added sugar beverages than sugar free drinks, especially for 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP), which might be related not only to packaging materials but to the added sugar content. Estimated daily intakes (EDIs) in normal and high-exposure scenarios were 2.52 ng/kg bw/day and 7.43 ng/kg bw/day, respectively. Human risk associated with beverages ingestion showed regular cola drinks, juice and tap water as the groups with the highest hazard quotients (HQs). Although OPE exposure was below to safety limits, it should be noted that EHDPP values for regular cola group must be cause of concern, and other routes of exposure such as food ingestion or air inhalation should be also considered.

In this study, we investigate the occurrence and magnitude of plastic pollution in the Sub-Arctic ecosystem through the monitoring of several indicative variables in a sentinel organism, the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) from the waters off western Iceland. We followed two approaches. The first was the analysis of microplastics in fin whale’s stomach content (n=25, collected in 2018). The second was the analysis of two sets of plastic additives: phthalates in fin whale muscle (n=31, collected along the period 1986-2015), and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFR) in both fin whale muscle (n=20, collected in 2015) and stomach contents (n=10, collected in 2009-2013). We found that the stomach contents, which were composed of krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica), the mean concentration of microplastics was 0.057 particles per gram of krill, suggesting a fin whale daily intake of 38,646 to 77,292 particles per day. Regarding phthalates, we found that the most abundant compounds were: di-n-butylphthalate (DBP), diethylphthalate (DEP), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). We did not observe any significant trend in the phthalate concentrations over the 29-year period studied. Regarding organophosphate flame retardants (OPFR) we found the occurrence of seven OPFRs compounds in the fin whale muscle and five in krill, being tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP), Isopropylated triphenyl phosphate (IPPP), and Triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) the most abundant compounds in both matrices. Our results also support the absence of OPFR krill-to-whale biomagnification as well as the bioaccumulation of these compounds in fin whale tissues. These findings highlight the need for continued monitoring of plastic pollution and its associated chemicals in marine wildlife, particularly in large filter-feeding species such as the fin whale.

For the first time, organophosphate ester (OPE) content was studied in different types of surgical, self-filtering (KN95, FFP2, and FFP3) and reusable face masks used for COVID-19 prevention. OPEs were detected in all mask samples, although in highly variable amounts which ranged from 0.02 to a maximum of 27.7 µg/mask, with the highest mean concentrations obtained for KN95 masks (11.6 µg/mask) and the lowest for surgical masks (0.24 µg/mask). Twelve out of 16 tested analytes were detected, with TEP, TPHP, TNBP, TEHP and TClPP being the most common OPEs as well as present at the highest concentrations. The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of OPE inhalation were calculated as being always several orders of magnitude lower than threshold levels, indicating that the use of face masks is safe with regard to OPE contamination. However, given the wide range of OPEs observed in different masks, it can be concluded that some masks (e.g. reusable) are less OPE-contaminated than others (e.g. KN95). With regard to environmental pollution, the disposal of billions of face masks is adding to the already substantial levels of microplastics and associated toxic additives worldwide, an impact that is lessened by use of reusable masks, which also have the lowest economic cost per user. However, in situations of relatively high risk of viral inhalation, such as poorly ventilated indoor public spaces, we recommend the use of FFP2 masks.

A multi-residue method for the analysis of non-polar pesticides by GC–MS/MS in water and sediment matrices has been successfully developed, including 33 and 27 compounds, respectively. Water analysis method is based on a classic liquid–liquid extraction with recoveries ranging between 39 and 102%, with RSDs lower than 13%, LODs of 0.42–15.2 ng L−1 and LOQs of 0.72–50.8 ng L−1. Sediment analysis method is based on a pressurized liquid extraction with recoveries ranging between 37 and 133%, RSDs lower than 18%, LODs of 0.01–0.16 ng g−1 dry weigth (dw) and LOQs of 0.02–0.54 ng g−1 dw. Reported LODs were lower than the maximum acceptable detection limits set by the EU Watch Lists for selected pesticides. Applicability of both methodologies has been evaluated in real water and sediment samples collected in Catalonian river basins reporting oxadiazon for the first time in sediments from Catalonian river basins with a range of n.d. to 382 ng g−1 dw and a mean concentration of 44.0 ng g−1 dw. The importance of the simultaneous evaluation of both water and sediment has been emphasised since ten out of the 15 detected pesticides in the sediments can pose a high risk to aquatic organisms according to the Risk Quotient (RQ) method. Further detailed work needs to be done to better understand and assess the environmental impact of pesticide-contaminated sediments on aquatic organisms.