PMID- 32591164
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20200908
LR  - 20200908
IS  - 1879-2448 (Electronic)
IS  - 0043-1354 (Linking)
VI  - 182
DP  - 2020 Sep 1
TI  - The role of wet wipes and sanitary towels as a source of white microplastic 
      fibres in the marine environment.
PG  - 116021
LID - S0043-1354(20)30558-3 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116021 [doi]
AB  - Understanding source elements of the ocean plastic crisis is key to effective 
      pollution reduction management and policy. The ubiquity of microplastic (MP) 
      fibres in the oceans is considered to derive primarily from clothing fibres 
      released in grey water. Microplastic fibres degraded from widely flushed personal 
      care textile products (wet wipes and sanitary towels) have not been clearly 
      identified in aquatic systems to date. Unregulated personal hygiene and sanitary 
      product labelling fails to identify textile materials. This study demonstrated 
      that white MP fibres in sediments adjacent to a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) 
      are comparable with white fibres from sewage-related waste and commercially 
      available consumer sanitary products. Commercially available non-flushable wipes 
      are manufactured from either polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene 
      (PP), or a combination of PET and cellulose. Fifty percent of brands labelled 
      flushable that were tested were comprised of a mixture of PET and cellulose and 
      the remainder of cellulose alone. Sanitary towels are made from PP, PE, or a 
      combination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and PP. The accumulation of large 
      quantities of washed-up sewage-related macro-debris (including wet wipes and 
      sanitary towels) intermingled with seaweed biomass adjacent to the WWTP was 
      associated with a combined sewer overflow. Microplastic fibres extracted from 
      this waste were similar to those extracted from intertidal sediments in close 
      proximity to the WWTP over a ten-month period. In comparison, fibres extracted 
      from locations spatially removed from the WWTP were primarily comprised of ABS, 
      PP and polystyrene. The results confirm that wet wipes and sanitary towels 
      flushed down toilets are an underestimated source of white MP fibres in the 
      environment. Given the global distribution and projected growth of the non-woven 
      textile industry, there is a need for increased public awareness of MP pollution 
      in the marine environment from the inappropriate disposal of sanitary products 
      down the toilet, instead of diversion to alternative land-based waste management.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
FAU - O Briain, Oisin
AU  - O Briain O
AD  - Earth and Ocean Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, 
      Galway, H91TK33, Ireland; Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, 
      Co. Kildare, Ireland.
FAU - Marques Mendes, Ana R
AU  - Marques Mendes AR
AD  - Earth and Ocean Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, 
      Galway, H91TK33, Ireland.
FAU - McCarron, Stephen
AU  - McCarron S
AD  - Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
FAU - Healy, Mark G
AU  - Healy MG
AD  - Civil Engineering and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, 
      H91HX31, Ireland.
FAU - Morrison, Liam
AU  - Morrison L
AD  - Earth and Ocean Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, 
      Galway, H91TK33, Ireland. Electronic address: liam.morrison@nuigalway.ie.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20200610
PL  - England
TA  - Water Res
JT  - Water research
JID - 0105072
RN  - 0 (Microplastics)
RN  - 0 (Plastics)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
SB  - IM
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - Microplastics
MH  - Oceans and Seas
MH  - *Plastics
MH  - Water Pollutants, Chemical/*analysis
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Microplastic
OT  - Non-woven textiles
OT  - Sanitary towels
OT  - Sewage
OT  - Wastewater
OT  - Wipes
COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known 
      competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
      to influence the work reported in this paper.
EDAT- 2020/06/28 06:00
MHDA- 2020/09/09 06:00
CRDT- 2020/06/28 06:00
PHST- 2020/03/18 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/06/01 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/06/04 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/06/28 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2020/09/09 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/06/28 06:00 [entrez]
AID - S0043-1354(20)30558-3 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116021 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Water Res. 2020 Sep 1;182:116021. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116021. Epub 2020 
      Jun 10.