Bum Gun Kwon, Katsuhiko Saido, Koshiro Koizumi, Hideto Sato, Naoto
Ogawa, Seon -Yong Chung, Takashi Kusui, Yoichi Kodera, Kazuhio Kogure,
Regional distribution of styrene analogues generated from polystyrene
degradation along the coastlines of the North-East Pacific Ocean and
Hawaii, Environmental Pollution, Volume 188, May 2014, Pages 45-49, ISSN
0269-7491, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.01.019.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114000347)
Abstract: Beach sand and seawater taken from the coastlines of the
North-East Pacific Ocean and Hawaii State were investigated to determine
the causes of global chemical contamination from polystyrene (PS). All
samples were found to contain styrene monomer (SM), styrene dimers (SD),
and styrene trimers (ST) with a concentration distribution of styrene
analogues in the order of ST > SD > SM. The contamination by styrene
analogues along the West Coast proved more severe than in Alaska and
other regions. The Western Coastlines of the USA seem be affected by
both land- and ocean-based pollution sources, which might result from it
being a heavily populated area as the data suggest a possible
proportional relationship between PS pollution and population. Our
results suggest the presence of new global chemical contaminants derived
from PS in the ocean, and along coasts.
Keywords: Polystyrene; Styrene oligomers; Styrene analogues; Global
ocean pollution; Plastics