GC-MS screening of additive chemicals in plastic products from beaches and local markets

Abstract

Plastics are utilized in various applications (e.g., manufacturing, packaging of food and other materials, fisheries, medical and devices) because of their versatile characters. Due to their formulation and/or processing, these synthetic polymers contain additives and impurities which may leach out under conditions of use and accumulate in environment. The threat of plastics pollution to the marine environment has been ignored for a long time, and its seriousness has been only recently recognised. Therefore, to check the role of plastic debris in spreading these chemicals as contaminants in marine environment, a number of marine debris were collected from coastal beach and sorted to food (bowl, straw, cider and water bottles, packaging films of cookies, tiffin box etc.), aquaculture (buoys, buoy rope, ropes, eel fish trapper, fish trapper float, fish trapper disassembler) and general uses (rope, birthday bomb, polythene bag and writing pen). Simultaneously fresh plastics (same or same brand) were also bought from local market. This screening consists of two steps first the identification of the plastic using FTIR and second the sonication-assisted extraction of the material using dicholoromethane. Total 43 plastic samples (25 new and 18 debris) belong to the different polymers (PP>PE>PP+PE>PET>poly(acylene:styrene) were analysed by GC-MS in full scan mode and chemicals were identified using NIST library. A databaseolymers contain additives and impurities which may leach out under conditions of use and accumulate in environment. The threat of plastics pollution to the marine environment has been ignored for a long time, and its seriousness has been only recently recognised. Therefore, to check the role of plastic debris in spreading these chemicals as contaminants in marine environment, a number of marine debris were collected from coastal beach and sorted to food (bowl, straw, cider and water bottles, packaging films of cookies, tiffin box etc.), aquaculture (buoys, buoy rope, ropes, eel fish trapper, fish trapper float, fish trapper disassembler) and general uses (rope, birthday bomb, polythene bag and writing pen). Simultaneously fresh plastics (same or same brand) were also bought from local market. This screening consists of two steps first the identification of the plastic using FTIR and second the sonication-assisted extraction of the material using dicholoromethane. Total 43 plastic samples (25 new and 18 debris) belong to the different polymers (PP>PE>PP+PE>PET>poly(acylene:styrene) were analysed by GC-MS in full scan mode and chemicals were identified using NIST library. A database