Levels and fate of perfluoroalkyl substances in beached plastic pellets and sediments collected from Greece

Marta Llorca, Marinella Farré, Hrissi K. Karapanagioti, Damià Barceló,
Levels and fate of perfluoroalkyl substances in beached plastic pellets
and sediments collected from Greece, Marine Pollution Bulletin,
Available online 27 August 2014, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.07.036.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X14004792)
Abstract: Plastic debris damages marine wildlife and ecosystems becoming
an important source of marine pollution. In addition, they can sorb,
concentrate and stabilise contaminants acting as toxic carriers to the
marine food web. In this context, the presence of 18 perfluoroalkyl
substances (PFASs) in plastic pellets (n = 5) and beach sediment (n = 9)
samples widely distributed around Greek coastal areas was assessed.

The results, mainly, showed the sorption of PFASs onto pellet surface
from surrounding water with concentrations from method limit of
quantification to 115 ng/kg for C5, C7, C8 and C10 carboxylic acids and
C8 sulfonate acid. A similar pattern was found by comparing plastic
pellets and sediment for the same sampling locations that could indicate
a common origin of contamination in both types of samples. However,
since the number of analysed samples is limited, a more comprehensive
study with a higher number of samples should be performed in future
research.
Keywords: Plastic pellets; Beach sediments; Perfluoroalkyl substances

Levels and fate of perfluoroalkyl substances in beached plastic pellets and sediments collected from Greece