{"title":"Investigation on plastic-aggregates in coastal and marine pollution: Distribution, possible formation process, and disintegration prospects","authors":"Sudeshna Chell , Mijanur Mondal , Uday Kumar Ghorui , Uttiya Dey , Sabyasachi Chakrabortty , Kousik Das , Harish Puppala","doi":"10.1016/j.pce.2025.104000","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plastic-aggregates are made up from unused or waste plastic and natural aggregates which have recently been emerged as a significant addition to the existing emerging contaminants list mainly in the coastal environment. The transformation from plastics/microplastics to Plastic-aggregates signifies a crucial shift in our understanding and use of plastics and prompting us to reconsider their fundamental characteristics along with possible environmental threats. When plastic waste is incinerated for the purpose of disposal, it combines with organic and inorganic substances present in the surrounding environment, leading to a new type of material. Besides, some natural factors (physical, chemical, biological or in combination) also act upon discarded plastics to combine with rocks and other earthen materials to form plastic-aggregates. Our research aims to build fundamental knowledge and critically review the possible formation process, classification, and possible degradation of all such polymer-rock compounds along with their impact on the ecosystem. The knowledge gap related to the degradation and release of secondary pollutants from these agglomerates is to be addressed urgently in future research. Development and standardization of proper sampling and reporting procedures for plastic-aggregates can enhance our understanding related to their impacts on human health as well as to the entire environment as these aggregates contain different toxic chemicals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54616,"journal":{"name":"Physics and Chemistry of the Earth","volume":"140 ","pages":"Article 104000"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physics and Chemistry of the Earth","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706525001500","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Plastic-aggregates are made up from unused or waste plastic and natural aggregates which have recently been emerged as a significant addition to the existing emerging contaminants list mainly in the coastal environment. The transformation from plastics/microplastics to Plastic-aggregates signifies a crucial shift in our understanding and use of plastics and prompting us to reconsider their fundamental characteristics along with possible environmental threats. When plastic waste is incinerated for the purpose of disposal, it combines with organic and inorganic substances present in the surrounding environment, leading to a new type of material. Besides, some natural factors (physical, chemical, biological or in combination) also act upon discarded plastics to combine with rocks and other earthen materials to form plastic-aggregates. Our research aims to build fundamental knowledge and critically review the possible formation process, classification, and possible degradation of all such polymer-rock compounds along with their impact on the ecosystem. The knowledge gap related to the degradation and release of secondary pollutants from these agglomerates is to be addressed urgently in future research. Development and standardization of proper sampling and reporting procedures for plastic-aggregates can enhance our understanding related to their impacts on human health as well as to the entire environment as these aggregates contain different toxic chemicals.
期刊介绍:
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth is an international interdisciplinary journal for the rapid publication of collections of refereed communications in separate thematic issues, either stemming from scientific meetings, or, especially compiled for the occasion. There is no restriction on the length of articles published in the journal. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth incorporates the separate Parts A, B and C which existed until the end of 2001.
Please note: the Editors are unable to consider submissions that are not invited or linked to a thematic issue. Please do not submit unsolicited papers.
The journal covers the following subject areas:
-Solid Earth and Geodesy:
(geology, geochemistry, tectonophysics, seismology, volcanology, palaeomagnetism and rock magnetism, electromagnetism and potential fields, marine and environmental geosciences as well as geodesy).
-Hydrology, Oceans and Atmosphere:
(hydrology and water resources research, engineering and management, oceanography and oceanic chemistry, shelf, sea, lake and river sciences, meteorology and atmospheric sciences incl. chemistry as well as climatology and glaciology).
-Solar-Terrestrial and Planetary Science:
(solar, heliospheric and solar-planetary sciences, geology, geophysics and atmospheric sciences of planets, satellites and small bodies as well as cosmochemistry and exobiology).