IWRA 2023 Online Conference - Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment
Theme 5: PRIORITY emerging pollutants in the hydrocycle: microplastics, nanomaterial, PFAs and PPCPs
Author(s): Camila L Madeira - State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Camila L Madeira - State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Oral: PDFAbstract
INTRODUCTION
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Microplastics (MPs) have a high surface area to volume ratio, potentially sorbing different types of contaminants.
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Sorption processes depend on the characteristics of the microplastics, the contaminants, and the environment.
Pesticides in aquatic environments
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Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide. Its use in agriculture has been prohibited by the European Commission, but it is still widely used in Brazil.
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Fipronil undergoes biotic and abiotic transformations in aquatic environments.
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The transformation products fipronil sulfide, fipronil sulfone, and fipronil desulfinyl have been considered more toxic and persistent than fipronil (Qu et al, 2016).
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Fipronil and its transformation products have high Kow.
CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY
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Fipronil, fipronil sulfone and fipronil sulfide were highly sorbed by polyethylene microplastics in ultrapure water (86, 86, and 76%, respectively).
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Significant decrease in the sorption capacity was observed for the three compounds in water from the Atibaia river with or without microplastics.
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The presence of high concentrations (≥ 5 mg/L) of dissolved organic carbon in the form of humic acids also decreased the sorption capacity of polyethylene microplastics.
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Further studies are needed to evaluate the sorption of fipronil and its transformation products onto microplastics in different matrices and the toxic effects on aquatic organisms.
January 19,2023 – 12:20 CET