Polymer aging affects the bioavailability of microplastics-associated contaminants in sea urchin embryos

Microplastics (MPs) in the marine environment undergo complex weathering factors that can affect their ability to interact with different coexisting environmental contaminants (termed here co-contaminants). In this study, the influence of artificially aging using UV on the sorption of a complex mixture of co-contaminants onto MPs was investigated in order to provide meaningful hypotheses on their individual and combined toxicities on sea urchin embryos. A mixture of artificially aged MPs (PS particles and PA microfibers) combined with 2,2′ ,4,4′ - tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), or Cd or Cu, both alone and in a mix, were used to expose embryos of Paracentrotus lividus. The effects of pol…