Cited by 307Microplastics and Plastic PollutionAnalytical chemistry methods developmentEnvironmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

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Ribeiro, Francisca, Okoffo, Elvis D., O’Brien, Jake W., Fraissinet-Tachet, Sarah, O’Brien, Stacey, Gallen, Michael, Samanipour, Saer, Kaserzon, Sarit +3 more·2020·Environmental Science & Technology

Abstract

Microplastic contamination of the marine environment is widespread, but the extent to which the marine food web is contaminated is not yet known. The aims of this study were to go beyond visual identification techniques and develop and apply a simple seafood sample cleanup, extraction, and quantitative analysis method using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry to improve the detection of plastic contamination. This method allows the identification and quantification of polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, and poly(methyl methacrylate) in the edible portion of five different seafood organisms: oysters, prawns, squid, crabs, and sardines. Polyvinyl chloride was detected in all samples and polyethylene at the highest total concentration of between 0.04 and 2.4 mg g–1 of tissue. Sardines contained the highest total plastic mass concentration (0.3 mg g–1 tissue) and squid the lowest (0.04 mg g–1 tissue). Our findings show that the total concentration of plastics is highly variable among species and that microplastic concentration differs between organisms of the same species. The sources of microplastic exposure, such as packaging and handling with consequent transference and adherence to the tissues, are discussed. This method is a major development in the standardization of plastic quantification techniques used in seafood.

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Crossref · 10.1021/acs.est.0c02337

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  • PMD is ingested by several marine organisms, including commercially important species.

    “PMD is also ingested by several marine organisms, including commercially important species.18,19,[87][88][89][90]”

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2 of the 74 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

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  1. Tamara Galloway -College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, EX4 4QD Exeter, U.K. Kevin V. Thomas -Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia; orcid.org/ 0000-0002-2155-100X Complete contact information is available at: https://pubs.acs.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02337 ■ REFERENCES
  2. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshwater Res. 1993, 27, 309-315.

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Authors
Ribeiro, F., Okoffo, E. D., O’Brien, J. W., Fraissinet-Tachet, S., O’Brien, S., Gallen, M., Samanipour, S., Kaserzon, S., Mueller, J. F., Galloway, T., & Thomas, K. V.
Affiliations
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • The University of Queensland , , 20 Cornwall Street , , ,
  • University of Exeter (GB)
Corresponding author
Ribeiro, Francisca
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2020-07-09
Volume
54
Issue
15
Pages
9408-9417
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
OpenAlex
W3040849953
Cited by
307
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 4
FWCI
9.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Department of Health, Queensland (NA)
  • Research Councils UK (NE/N006178, NE/S003975/1)
  • University of Exeter (NA)
  • University of Queensland (NA)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Analytical chemistry methods development
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
Keywords
microplastic pollution, seafood, pyrolysis-GC/MS, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, poly(methyl methacrylate), oysters, prawns, squid, crabs, sardine, marine food webs
MeSH terms
Pyrolysis, Australia, Environmental Monitoring, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Plastics, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Seafood

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