Recycled polyvinyl chloride microplastics: investigation of environmentally relevant concentrations on toxicity in adult zebrafish

ABSTRACT

Recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics have been detected in the aquatic environment. These recycled microparticles contain chemicals that are released into the environment reaching different organisms. Although the problem of the presence of recycled PVC microparticles in the environment is evident, the toxicological consequences of this contaminant to exposed organisms remains to be better determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the toxicity attributed to exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of recycled PVC microplastics in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). The experimental groups were: negative control, vehicle control, positive control, and recycled microplastics (20 ± 5 μm) at 5, 10 or 20 μg/L. Zebrafish (D. rerio) were exposed to respective treatments for 96 hr. Locomotion and oxidative status parameters were measured and mortality recorded. The positive control group presented increased mortality rates and decreased locomotor activity. Animals from the vehicle group did not show marked differences. Finally, no significant disturbances were found in survival rate, locomotion pattern and oxidative status of animals exposed to recycled PVC microparticles at 5, 10 or 20 μg/L. Taken together our results suggest that recycled PVC microplastics in this particle size range do not appear to exert harmful effects on exposed adult D. rerio. However, these results need to be carefully observed due to limitations including size of particle and duration of exposure parameters that might affect ecological consequences. It is suggested that additional studies applying other particles sizes and chronic exposure are needed to more comprehensively verify the toxicity of the contaminant investigated here.

KEYWORDS:

• Danio rerio
• microplastics
• plastic particles
• recycled polyvinyl chloride
• toxicity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15287394.2023.2203154

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo á Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Governo do Estado de Santa Catarina (Programa UNIEDU), and Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (Unochapecó).