Sara Villa

This study investigated the behavioural responses of the arthropods Folsomia candida (springtails) and Porcellionides pruinosus (woodlice) to leachates released from additive-free plastic polymers. Avoidance behaviour was evaluated to assess potential reductions in soil habitat function, while aggregation status was investigated to highlight possible functional impairments in the woodlice population. Leachates from pristine and artificially aged low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) microplastics were tested at three different concentrations, ranging from environmentally relevant levels to a worst-case scenario of soil contamination. The distinct physicochemical structures of LDPE and PP led to different release compounds. The results revealed no statistically significant avoidance responses in arthropods for either treatment. Unlike PP, LDPE induced a statistically significant impairment of gregarious behaviour at the highest tested concentration (150 mg/kg d.w.). Furthermore, pristine LDPE induced more pronounced disaggregation than the aged one, suggesting that weathering may modulate behavioural responses depending on polymer type and endpoint. Therefore, it is recommended that high levels of plastic leachates can have an adverse effect on soil arthropods and that the aggregation behaviour of woodlice may be a more informative and sensitive biological endpoint than avoidance alone.

Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are persistent contaminants increasingly subjected to regulatory restrictions. To date, their effects on terrestrial plants remain poorly investigated. To address these knowledge gaps, a comparative assessment was conducted to identify the most sensitive plant species and the most responsive early-growth endpoints. Five PFCAs were selected according to their carbon-chain length (from 3 to 8 C-atoms). Seven plant species were exposed to a wide range of concentrations (from 0.01 up to 100 µg kg⁻¹). Germination and root elongation were evaluated as developmental endpoints to assess both acute and sublethal effects. Across species, germination exhibited weak responses, whereas root elongation appeared to be the most sensitive screening parameter, displaying divergent species-specific patterns. Notably, Sinapis alba and Cucumis sativus emerged as the most responsive species, although they exhibited opposite responses. While mustard exhibited low-dose root stimulation, cucumber showed root inhibition. Interestingly, species within the same family (Brassicaceae and Cucurbitaceae) showed contrasting sensitivity, suggesting that PFCA phytotoxicity is species-specific rather than driven by taxonomic relatedness. This divergent pattern may be linked to distinct morpho-physiological traits, supporting their use as suitable model organisms for phytotoxicity screening of PFCAs.

Tire particles (TPs) are one of the main emission sources of micro- and nano-plastics into the environment. Although most TPs are deposited in the soil or in the sediments of freshwater and although they have been demonstrated to accumulate in organisms, most research has focused on the toxicity of leachate, neglecting the potential effects of particles and their ecotoxicological impact on the environment. In addition, studies have focused on the impact on aquatic systems and there are many gaps in the biological and ecotoxicological information on the possible harmful effects of the particles on edaphic fauna, despite the soil ecosystem becoming a large plastic sink. The aim of the present study is to review the environmental contamination of TPs, paying particular attention to the composition and degradation of tires (I), transport and deposition in different environments, especially in soil (II), the toxicological effects on edaphic fauna (III), potential markers and detection in environmental samples for monitoring (IV), preliminary risk characterization, using Forlanini Urban Park, Milan (Italy), as an example of an urban park (V), and risk mitigation measures as possible future proposals for sustainability (VI).

The great concern over the environmental impact of wastewaters has led to the designing of advanced treatment processes to upgrade conventional treatment plants and achieve a significant reduction of contaminants in receiving waters. In the present study we combined chemical and ecotoxicological analyses, aiming to evaluate the reduction of toxicity effects associated with the removal of micropollutants and to define the contribution of the detected compounds to the overall toxicity of the mixtures in a series of wastewater effluents collected from a secondary treatment (OUT 2) and from a tertiary activated carbon treatment (OUT 3) plant. The target compounds were selected after a screening procedure among pharmaceuticals, musk fragrances, and trace metals. The classical algal growth inhibition test was conducted on the original effluent samples and on different fractions obtained by solid-phase extraction (SPE) treatment. A good accordance was found between the removal of toxicity (30%–80%) and organic compounds (70%–80%) after the tertiary treatment, suggesting its high efficiency to improve the wastewater quality. The discrepancy between the contribution to the overall toxicity of the nonadsorbable compounds (i.e., inorganic or very polar organic compounds) as experimentally measured by the SPE bioassays (18%–76%) and calculated by the concentration addition approach (>97%) could be mitigated by including the bioavailability correction in metal-toxicity modeling of wastewater mixtures. For the organic compounds, the toxic equivalency method enabled us to quantify the portion of toxicity explained by the detected chemicals in both OUT 2 (82%–104%) and OUT 3 (5%–57%), validating the selection of the target molecules. The applied integrating approach could be implemented by the inclusion of both additional target chemicals and toxicity endpoints. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:2404–2419. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are particles ranging in size between 1 and 1000 nm, and they are a form of environmental contaminant of great ecotoxicological concern. Although NPs are widespread across ecosystems, they have only recently garnered growing attention from both the scientific community and regulatory bodies. The present study reviews scientific literature related to the exposure and effects of NPs and identifies research gaps that impede the finalization of related environmental risk assessments (ERAs). Approximately 80 articles published between 2012 and 2021 were considered. Very few studies (eight articles) focused on the presence of NPs in biotic matrices, whereas the majority of the studies (62 articles) assessed the lethal and sublethal effects of NPs on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Whilst many studies focused on nude NPs, only a few considered their association with different aggregates. Amongst NPs, the effects of polystyrene are the most extensively reported to date. Moreover, the effects of NPs on aquatic organisms are better characterized than those on terrestrial organisms. NP concentrations detected in water were close to or even higher than the sublethal levels for organisms. An ERA framework specifically tailored to NPs is proposed.