Are small particles a large problem? – Assessing the environmental impact of current and future levels of nanoplastics on natural aquatic ecosystems

Society is facing a global environmental challenge where the state of knowledge is meager, namely the release of plastic nanoparticles. Today, plastic constitute one of the fastest growing waste chains on our planet.

Nanoplastics have been shown to be very toxic to aquatic organisms in laboratory studies, although we lack knowledge on how they affect organisms and important biological processes in natural systems.

As plastic is released into the environment, a large proportion will be transported to wetlands, lakes and oceans via surface water runoff and atmospheric deposition.

Hitherto, the concentration of nanoplastics in aquatic systems has been relatively unknown, but recently it was determined that the concentration of nanoplastics in Swedish lakes was above 500 µg/L and is expected to increase 2.6-fold by 2040.

This project aims at, for the first time, investigate the impact of current and expected future concentrations of nanoplastics using wetland mesocosms and assess how nanoplastics from consumer products are transported and affect organisms and biological processes in natural aquatic ecosystems.

The knowledge generated by the project is of utmost importance for understanding and counteracting future problems linked to the release of nanoplastics.

The results will also constitute crucial support for decision makers regarding rules and recommendations on the management of this novel environmental threat and for determining acceptable environmental levels.