TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterisation, quantity and sorptive properties of microplastics extracted from cosmetics
AU - Napper, Imogen E.
AU - Bakir, Adil
AU - Rowland, Steven J.
AU - Thompson, Richard C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/10/15
Y1 - 2015/10/15
N2 - Cosmetic products, such as facial scrubs, have been identified as potentially important primary sources of microplastics to the marine environment. This study characterises, quantifies and then investigates the sorptive properties of plastic microbeads that are used as exfoliants in cosmetics. Polyethylene microbeads were extracted from several products, and shown to have a wide size range (mean diameters between 164 and 327μm). We estimated that between 4594 and 94,500 microbeads could be released in a single use. To examine the potential for microbeads to accumulate and transport chemicals they were exposed to a binary mixture of 3H-phenanthrene and 14C-DDT in seawater. The potential for transport of sorbed chemicals by microbeads was broadly similar to that of polythene (PE) particles used in previous sorption studies. In conclusion, cosmetic exfoliants are a potentially important, yet preventable source of microplastic contamination in the marine environment.
AB - Cosmetic products, such as facial scrubs, have been identified as potentially important primary sources of microplastics to the marine environment. This study characterises, quantifies and then investigates the sorptive properties of plastic microbeads that are used as exfoliants in cosmetics. Polyethylene microbeads were extracted from several products, and shown to have a wide size range (mean diameters between 164 and 327μm). We estimated that between 4594 and 94,500 microbeads could be released in a single use. To examine the potential for microbeads to accumulate and transport chemicals they were exposed to a binary mixture of 3H-phenanthrene and 14C-DDT in seawater. The potential for transport of sorbed chemicals by microbeads was broadly similar to that of polythene (PE) particles used in previous sorption studies. In conclusion, cosmetic exfoliants are a potentially important, yet preventable source of microplastic contamination in the marine environment.
KW - Contaminant
KW - Exfoliating microbeads
KW - Microplastic
KW - Ocean pollution
KW - Polyethylene
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84944276249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/context/gees-research/article/2028/viewcontent/Microplastics_Extracted_From_Cosmetics.pdf
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.07.029
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.07.029
M3 - Article
C2 - 26234612
AN - SCOPUS:84944276249
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 99
SP - 178
EP - 185
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 1-2
ER -
