PCBs plasticizer POPs

A second-generation model comprised a mass balance of uptake and loss processes that more accurately reflected physiological processes through calibration to experimental data [154]. This model examined the mass transfer of PCBs from plastics to lugworms Arenicola marina) upon ingestion and by dermal contact in two environments closed laboratory bioassay systems and open marine systems. The results depended in part on the type of plastic, as polyethylene has a greater affinity for POPs than polystyrene. Table 4.9 summarizes those results. 

One of the main concerns with plastic resin pellets is that they carry persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are human-made chemicals used in a variety of anthropogenic activities, including industry, agriculture and daily life. POPs include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), different sorts of organochloiine pesticides (e.g. DDTs and HCHs) and brominated flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs). Because of their very slow rate of degradation, POPs are persistent in the environment. POPs are... 

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