The accumulation of plastic waste in the oceans is a global environmental challenge. Every year, between 8 and 15 tons of plastic waste enter the marine environment, and these quantities are set to increase in the coming years. Under the conditions of the aquatic environment, plastic waste undergoes a transformation due to UV radiation from the sun as well as mechanical abrasion of its surface by waves, currents and sand, possibly combined with the action of micro-organisms leading to fragmentation into small particles called secondary microplastics (MPs) when their size is less than 5 mm and nanoplastics (NPs) when their size becomes less than 1 μm. Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, even in the most remote areas. These particles have been found in all aquatic compartments (surface, water column, seabed sediments) in all the world's seas and oceans, as well as in 80% of the world's tap water systems. At IMMM, we have implemented techniques for producing plastic microparticles whose characteristics are as close as possible to those of particles taken from the environment, the main disadvantage of the latter being that they are usually obtained in quantities too small for representative ecotoxicological studies. We then monitor their degradation during accelerated ageing in climatic chambers in order to establish the ultimate fate of the plastics thanks to scattering and confocal microscopy experiments.
Accès Salle des séminaires FAST-LPTMS (Bât. 530, salle C.120, 1er)