Ecotoxicity of plastic additives to marine organisms

ABESSA, DENIS M.S.; IZAR, GABRIEL M.; ALTAFIM, GIAM LUCA; FRANÇA, LETÍCIA A.

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202520250344

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CHEMICAL SCIENCES • An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc. 97 (Suppl. 3) • 2025 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202520250344 linkcopy

Ecotoxicity of plastic additives to marine organisms

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Marine pollution by plastics is a major environmental issue that is expected to increase worldwide. Thousands of chemical substances can be used as plastic additives in industrial processes for various purposes, turning plastics into chemical carriers of such substances. If plastics are discarded in the marine environment, these chemicals can be released into the environment and cause toxicity to marine species. In this review, we analyze the toxicity of chemical groups that are commonly used as plastic additives (bisphenol-A, alkylphenols, tetrabromobisphenol, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in marine organisms. Little information has been obtained because only a small number of studies have been conducted on marine species. However, the existing information indicates high toxicity of most chemical groups, with the Lowest Observed Effect Concentrations (LOECs) on the order of micrograms per liter (e.g. bisphenol-A, para-nonylphenol, nonylphenol, octylphenol, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, BDE-47). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were toxic at milligrams per liter. These results provide evidence that chemicals added to plastics may represent a threat to marine organisms, and further research on the toxicity of these substances is urgently needed.

Key words
Marine Pollution; Plasticizers; Ecotoxicology; Contaminants of Emerging Concern; Plastics; Chemical additives

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Oryzias melastigma (Fish)	Acute Survival	160 days	BPAF	91.88 μg/L	no data	Chen et al. (2024)
Oryzias melastigma (Fish)	Chronic Behavior	160 days	BPAF	0.61 μg/L	no data	Chen et al. (2024)
Oikopleura dioica (Tunicata)	Acute Survival	32 h	BPA	no data	0.142 mg/L	Li et al. (2024)
Haliotis discus hannai (Mollusca)	Chronic Cytotoxicity (haemocyte)	48 h	BPA	no data	5 μM	Kim et al. (2024)
Oryzias melastigma (Fish)	Chronic Behavior (larvae)	72h	BPA	0,5 μM	no data	Li et al. (2023)
Dendraster excentricus (Echinodermata)	Acute Embryolarval	7 days	BPA	50 μg/L	no data	Darin (2021)
Mytillus galloprovincialis (Mollusca)	Acute Embryolarval	48 h	BPA	0.1 μg/L	5.52 μg/L	Fabbri et al. (2014)

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Pleuronectes americanus (Fish)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	17 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Mulinia lateralis (Mollusca)	Acute Embryolarval	96 h	PNP	no data	37.9 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Palaemonetes vulgaris (Crustacea)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	59.4 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Americamysis bahia (Crustacea)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	60.6 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Leptocheirus plumulosus (Crustacea)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	61.6 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Menidia beryllina (Fish)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	70 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Homarus americanus (Crustacea)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	71 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Cyprinodon variegatus (Fish)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	142 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Dyspanopeus sayi (Crustacea)	Acute Larval	96 h	PNP	no data	> 195 μg/L	Lussier et al. (2000)
Cyclotella caspia (Diatom)	Chronic Growth rate	96h	NP	0.18 mg/L	no data	Liu et al. (2013)
Arbacia lixula (Echinodermata)	Acute Embryolarval	72 h	NP OP	0.937 μg/L 20 μg/L	no data	Arslan & Parlak (2007)
Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata)	Acute Embryolarval	72 h	NP OP	0.937 μg/L 5 μg/L	no data	Arslan et al. (2007)

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Paracartia grani (Copepoda)	Chronic carboxylesterases activity	30 min (in vitro)	TBBPA	100 μM	no data	Nos et al. (2020)
Sarda sarda (Fish)	Chronic carboxylesterases activity	30 min (in vitro)	TBBPA	100 μM	no data	Nos et al. (2020)
Sardina plicardus (Fish)	Cronic carboxylesterases activity	30 min (in vitro)	TBBPA	100 μM	no data	Nos et al. (2020)
Vibrio fischerii (Bacteria)	Acute Light Emission Inhibition	15 min	TBBPA B3BPA¹ B2BPA² B1BPA³ BPA	no data	59.69 mg/L 4.1 mg/L 5.9 mg/L 4.8 mg/L 6.2 mg/L	Debenest et al. (2010)
Chlorella sp. (Chlorophyceae)	Chronic Growth Inhibition	72 h	TBBPA	0.125 mg/L	3.5 mg/L	Debroy et al. (2024)
Mytillus galloprovincialis (Mollusca)	Acute Embryolarval	48 h	TBBPA	0.1 μg/L	3.68 μg/L	Fabbri et al. (2014)
Ruditapes philippinarum (Mollusca)	Acute	96h	TBBPA	no data	7400 μg/L	Jiang et al. (2019)
Acartia tonsa (Copepoda)	Acute	48h	TBBPA	no data	0.40 mg/L	Wollenberger et al. (2005)

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Apostichopus japonicus (Echinodermata)	Acute Larval Survival	24h	PAEs leachates	< 0.3 mg/L	LC50 13,22 mg/L EC50 30,44 mg/L	Wang et al. (2023)
Apostichopus japonicus (Echinodermata)	Acute Larval Survival	48h	PAEs leachates	< 0.3 mg/L	LC50 5,21 mg/L EC50 18,27 mg/L	Wang et al. (2023)
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Echinodermata)	Acute Larval Survival	96h	Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)	< 0.1 mg/L	no data	Shore et al. (2022)
Alexandrium pacificum (Dinoflagellata)	Chronic cell density	96h	Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)	1 µg/L	no data	M’Rabet et al. (2018)
Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Diatom)	Chronic growth inhibition	96h	Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) diethyl phthalate (DEP)	390.5 mg/L 74.0 mg/L	no data	Gao et al. (2021)

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Isochrysis galbana (Microalgae)	Chronic growth inhibition	72 h	BDE-47 BDE-99 BDE-154	5.1 mg/L 6.9 mg/L 24.6 mg/L	EC50 25.7 mg/L 30.9 mg/L 243.7 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012a)
Platymonas subcordiformis (Microalgae)	Acute swimming behavior	2 h	BDE-47 BDE-99 BDE-153	no data	EC50 5.4 μg/L 7.7 μg/L 14.6 μg/L	Zhao et al. (2019)
Psetta maxima (Fish)	Acute Hatching success of eggs	48 h	BDE-47 BDE-99	4.1 mg/L 5.1 mg/L	LC50 27.3 mg/L 38.3 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012b)
Psetta maxima (Fish)	Acute Larval Survival	72 h	BDE-47 BDE-99	1.6 mg/L 3.2 mg/L	LC50 14.1 mg/L 29.6 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012b)
Palaemonetes pugio (Crustacea)	Acute Larval mortality	96 h	BDE-47	no data	LC50 23.6 μg/L	Key et al. (2008)
Palaemonetes pugio (Crustacea)	Acute Adult mortality	96 h	BDE-47	no data	LC50 78.1 μg/L	Key et al. (2008)

Species (Taxonomic group)	Type of effect	Duration	Compound	LOEC	EC50/LC50	Reference
Coryphaena hippurus (Fish)	Chronic Embryonic development	24 h	PFOA HFPO-DA PFDMMOBA PFO2DA PFO3TDA	LOAEL* 20 mg/L 100 mg/L 10 mg/L 10 mg/L 10 mg/L	LC50 55 mg/L 84 mg/L 17 mg/L 34 mg/L 19 mg/L	Gebreab et al. (2022)
Coryphaena hippurus (Fish)	Chronic Embryonic development	48 h	PFOA HFPO-DA PFDMMOBA PFO2DA PFO3TDA	LOAEL* 5 mg/L 100 mg/L 10 mg/L 1 mg/L 5 mg/L	LC50 4 mg/L 20 mg/L 10 mg/L 1.1 mg/L 7 mg/L	Gebreab et al. (2022)
Stronglycentrotus purpuratus (Sea urchin)	Chronic Embryonic development	96 h	PFOS PFOA	1.6 mg/L 11 mg/L	EC50 1.7 mg/L 19 mg/L	Hayman et al. (2021)
Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalve)	Acute Embryonic mortality	48 h	PFOS PFOA	1.1 mg/L 4.7 mg/L	EC50 1.1 mg/L 9.9 mg/L	Hayman et al. (2021)
Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalve)	Chronic Embryonic development	96 h	PFOS PFOA	1.1 mg/L 1.5 mg/L	EC50 1.1 mg/L 12 mg/L	Hayman et al. (2021)
Americamysis bahia (Crustacea)	Acute Adult mortality	96 h	PFOS PFOA	3 mg/L 29 mg/L	EC50 5.1 mg/L 24 mg/L	Hayman et al. (2021)
Pyrocystis lunula (Microalgae)	Acute Light output	24 h	PFOS PFOA	10 mg/L 11 mg/L	EC50 4.9 mg/L 18 mg/L	Hayman et al. (2021)
Mytillus galloprovincialis (Mollusca)	Acute Embryonic development	48 h	PFOS PFOA	0.1 μg/L 0.1 μg/L	no data	Fabbri et al. (2014)
Isochrysis galbana (Microalgae)	Chronic Embryonic development	72 h	PFOS PFOA	15 mg/L 50 mg/L	EC50 37.5 mg/L 163.6 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012c)
Paracentrotus lividus (Sea urchin)	Chronic Embryonic development	48 h	PFOS PFOA	2 mg/L 20 mg/L	EC50 20 mg/L 110 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012c)
Siriella armata (Crustacea)	Acute Adult mortality	96 h	PFOS PFOA	2.5 mg/L 10 mg/L	EC50 6.9 mg/L 15.5 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012c)
Psetta maxima (Fish)	Chronic Embryonic development	144 h	PFOS PFOA	0.03 mg/L 3 mg/L	EC50 0.11 mg/L 11.9 mg/L	Mhadhbi et al. (2012c)

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[tfnIII] ¹ B3BPA = tri-bromobisphenol A; ² B2BPA² = di-bromobisphenol A; ³ B1BPA³ = monobromobisphenol A.