Anthony L Andrady

North Carolina State University | NCSU · Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging class of pollutants in air, soil and especially in all aquatic environments. Secondary MPs are generated in the environment during fragmentation of especially photo-oxidised plastic litter. Photo-oxidation is mediated primarily by solar UV radiation. The implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments,...

Understanding the fate of plastics in the environment is of critical importance for the quantitative assessment of the biological impacts of plastic waste. Specially, there is a need to analyze in more detail the reputed longevity of plastics in the context of plastic degradation through oxidation and fragmentation reactions. Photo-oxidation of pla...

Fragmentation of plastic macro-debris into secondary microplastics [MPs] is primarily the result of their extensive oxidation under exposure to solar UV radiation. The heterogeneity in the marine zones with respect to their oxidative potential for plastics, introduces a marked zonal bias in their ability to carry out weathering and fragmentation. C...

The degradation of plastics in the ocean environment is especially interesting because it is believed to be the primary mechanism leading to fragmentation that generates secondary microplastics from plastic macro‐litter. Degradation processes are generally classified according to the primary causative agent. Natural weathering of plastics on land e...

The present epoch of man deserves to be formalized a distinct period, the Anthropocene, within the geological time scale. Plastics, a unique identifier of the Anthropocene, survives as stratigraphic markers in the soil to guide future archeologists exploring human era. Plastics are a sub‐class of an even larger group of materials called the polymer...

Research on marine biodegradation of plastics often has to rely on laboratory‐accelerated test environments. This chapter addresses the question of biodegradation of commodity plastics varieties typically encountered in the ocean environment. The process of biodegradation of plastics in the marine environment is conveniently described in terms of t...

Nanofibers, because of their high specific surface area, are particularly well suited for use in chemical and biological sensor applications. Fast reaction times and high sensitivity typically associated with nanofiber‐based sensors make them an appealing choice for use in diverse applications that demand fast response times, including gas sensing,...

The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol under the United Nations Environment Programme evaluates effects on the environment and human health that arise from changes in the stratospheric ozone layer and concomitant variations in ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the Earth’s surface. The current update is based on scientific a...

Marine litter, including plastics and microplastics, is accumulating in the world’s oceans at an unprecedented rate. The volume of plastics currently in the oceans has been estimated at between 75 million and 199 million tons1. Found in sea floor sediments and on beaches, among many other locations globally, plastics are are becoming part of the Ea...

While plastics are a ubiquitous material in our life, their use also brings serious environmental concerns. This chapter focuses on impacts associated with post-consumer plastic waste, especially microplastics, that find their way into the ocean environment. It introduces the sources of plastic debris in ocean and identifies the major categories of...

Accelerated weathering of LDPE laminates, with samples exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in air and while floating in seawater at the same temperature, was investigated in this study. The depth profiles of the concentrations of oxidation products in the two sets of samples was assessed by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and sugg...

The Montreal Protocol and its Amendments have been highly effective in protecting the stratospheric ozone layer and preventing global increases in solar ultraviolet‐B radiation (UV‐B; 280‐315 nm) at Earth’s surface (McKenzie et al., 2019). This international agreement has also been one of the most important societal actions to mitigate global warmi...

Microplastics are ubiquitous in marine and estuarine ecosystems, and thus there is increasing concern regarding exposure and potential effects in commercial species. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the effects of microplastics on larval and early juvenile life stages of the Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata), a North American fis...

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in marine environment. The prevalence of MPs in coastal and lagoon sediments , and water were studied in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Bundala National Park (BNP) and Hik-kaduwa Marine National Park (HNP) in Sri Lanka. Both areas are important for turtles, birds and coral ecosystems, all of which are particul...

Arctic sea ice entraps microplastics (MP) from seawater and atmosphere and is recognized as sink and transport vector of MPs. However, ice-trapped fraction in the global MP budget, contribution of atmospheric input, and linkage among Arctic basins remain unclear. To assess them, we investigated the number- and mass-based data separated by size and...

This assessment by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides the latest scientific update since our most recent comprehensive assessment (Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 2019, 18, 595–828). The interactive effects between the stratospheric ozone layer, solar ultraviolet...

Microplastics contamination is widespread in the environment leading to the exposure of both humans and other biota. While most studies overemphasize direct toxicity of microplastics, particle concentrations, characteristics and exposure conditions being used in these assays needs to be taken into consideration. For instance, toxicity assays that u...

This report highlight findings from the 2020 Update Assessment by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Full report available at: https://ozone.unep.org/science/assessment/eeap

A new technique involving large-volume (10 m3) samples of seawater was used to determine the abundance of microplastics (MPs) in the water column in the West Pacific Ocean and East Indian Ocean. Compared to the conventional sampling methods based on smaller volumes of water, the new data yielded abundance values for the deep-water column that are 1...

This assessment, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), one of three Panels informing the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, provides an update, since our previous extensive assessment (Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2019, 18, 595–828), of recent findings of current and projected interactive en...

Microplastics are of increasing concern as they are readily ingested by aquatic organisms. This study investigated microplastic trophic transfer using larval inland silversides (Menidia beryllina) (5 d posthatch) and unicellular tintinnid (Favella spp.) as a model food chain relevant to North American estuaries. Low‐density polyethylene microsphere...

Changes in stratospheric ozone and climate over the past 40-plus years have altered the solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation conditions at the Earth’s surface. Ozone depletion has also contributed to climate change across the Southern Hemisphere. These changes are interacting in complex ways to affect human health, food and water security, and ecosyste...

The accumulation of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) in the environment is a global growing concern. Knowing with precision where litter is generated is important to target priority areas for the implementation of mitigation policies. In this study, using country-level data on waste management combined with high-resolution distributions and long-term...

Solar UV radiation adversely affects the properties of organic materials used in construction, such as plastics and wood.

The abundance of microplastics (MPs) in surface water and beach sediment in Southern Sri Lanka covering a distance of 91 km of coastline is reported. MPs were classified according to polymer type, geometry and color of the sites tested 60% showed MP contamination in sand and 70% in surface waters off the coast. The size range of MPs from surface wa...

Ballerini, T., Le Pen, J.-R., Andrady, A., Cole, M., Galgani, F., Kedzierski, M., Pedrotti, M.-L., Ter Halle, A., Van Arkel, K., Zettler, E., Amaral-Zettler, L., Brandon, J., Bruzaud, S., Durand, G., Enevoldsen, E., Eriksen, M., Fabre, P., Fossi, M.-C., Frère, L., Avio, C.G., Hardesty, D., Jambeck, J., Lavender-Law, K., Mansui, J., Nafrechoux, E.,...

The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) is one of three Panels of experts that inform the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. The EEAP focuses on the effects of UV radiation on human health, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, air quality, and materials, as well as on the interactive effects of UV radiation and global climate change. When c...

Plastics in the marine environment have become a major concern because of their persistence at sea, and adverse consequences to marine life and potentially human health. Implementing mitigation strategies requires an understanding and quantification of marine plastic sources, taking spatial and temporal variability into account. Here we present a g...

Supplementary Table and Supplementary References

Microplastics [MPs], now a ubiquitous pollutant in the oceans, pose a serious potential threat to marine ecology and has justifiably encouraged focused biological and ecological research attention. But, their generation, fate, fragmentation and their propensity to sorb/release persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are determined by the characteristi...

GESAMP (2016). “Sources, fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment: part two of a global assessment” (Kershaw, P.J., and Rochman, C.M., eds). (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/ UNEP/UNDP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 93, 220 p. Report editors: Peter...

Rigid poly (vinyl chloride) [PVC] composites with 0 to 4 wt% of either conventional or nanoscale rutile titanium dioxide filler were injection molded. Rutile titania absorbs solar UVR efficiently and is typically used in rigid PVC formulations as an opacifier and protects the polymer from light-induced degradation. A comparison of the stabilization...

The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) is one of three Panels that regularly informs the Parties (countries) to the Montreal Protocol on the effects of ozone depletion and the consequences of climate change interactions with respect to human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality, and materials. The Panels provide a detail...

Global production of plastics is clearly on the increase and plastic products have become an inextricable part of our everyday life. Over a short span of about 75 years plastics have penetrated diverse application areas replacing conventional materials quite successfully. Continued growth in production is expected in the medium term but questions o...

The increasing global production and use of plastics has led to an accumulation of enormous amounts of plastic litter in the world’s oceans. Characteristics such as low density, good mechanical properties and low cost allow for successful use of plastics in industries and everyday life but the high durability leads to persistence of the synthetic p...

LDPE thermoplastic composites prepared using 1–4 wt% of conventional filler-grade ZnO and nanoscale ZnO were investigated to determine whether the presence of either grade of filler affected the weatherability of the composite material. Outdoor exposure (natural weathering) studies and accelerated weathering was performed and tensile properties wer...

IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/UNEP/UNDP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection GESAMP. Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 90, 96 p.

Plastic debris in the marine environment is widely documented, but the quantity of plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land is unknown. By linking worldwide data on solid waste, population density, and economic status, we estimated the mass of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean. We calculate that 275 million metric tons (MT)...

Survey's the issues typically raised in discussions of sustainability and plastics Discusses current issues not covered in detail previously such as ocean litter, migration of additives into food products and the recovery of plastics Covers post-consumer fate of plastics on land and in the oceans, highlighting the environmental impacts of disposal...

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are substances that can impair the functioning of the endocrine system leading to adverse health impacts. The presence of EDCs in the body affects functions such as metabolic and reproductive processes including embryonic development, gonadal formation, sex differentiation, growth, and digestion. Over 800 chemi...

Plastic resins are rarely used in virgin form but are intimately mixed with several chemicals (called additives) before they can be formed into useful plastic products. While infrastructure, organization, and management styles in the industry can be different worldwide, the basic steps involved in production are the same. These steps can be thought...

Structurally, polymers are long-chain-like molecules made up of repeating structural segments linked end to end. The desirable properties of plastics are primarily a consequence of this unique molecular geometry. This long-chain molecular geometry has interesting consequences in terms of properties and is invariably the reason behind the success of...

Advantages of using plastics in place of competing conventional materials are clearly demonstrated in three broad application areas: (i) energy-saving uses, (ii) uses that conserve materials, and (iii) uses that assure consumer health and safety. Plastic clips and sutures used for wound closure and for storage of blood provide a very valuable socie...

Environmental sustainability is a component embedded within the overarching objective of the sustainability of civilizations. The emergence of ecological economics provides a strong foundation for managing sustainable growth. The robust corporate culture with strong champions across the management team is essential to ensure a planned, focused tran...

Plastics industry is intricately connected and embedded in the various sectors that comprise the global economy. Its growth, sustainability, and impact on the environment ultimately depend on what the future world will look like. Therefore, to better understand the impacts of the use of plastic on the environment, it is necessary to appreciate the...

Preface The assessments presented in the seven papers published in this journal deal with the effects of ozone depletion on human health and the environment and the consequences of interactions between ozone depletion and global climate change. This report is produced in the first instance as a limited edition for governments, via the United Nation...

Materials used in the exterior of buildings and in construction are routinely exposed to solar UV radiation. Especially in the case of wood and plastic building materials, the service life is determined by their weather-induced deterioration. Any further increase in ground-level solar UV radiation, UV-B radiation in particular, will therefore reduc...

Nanocomposites based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with MMT clay, nanosilica, and nanoscale zinc oxide (at 5 wt.%) were prepared by melt processing and evaluated for durability using laboratory accelerated weathering. The changes in tensile properties of the nanocomposites with the duration of exposure were compared to data from natural weathe...

We present a multiple jet, needle-less process to fabricate electrospun nanofibers from foamed columns, produced by injecting compressed gas through a porous surface into polymer solutions, capable of circumventing syringe electrospinning shortcomings such as needle clogging and restrictions in production rate. Using polyvinyl alcohol and poly-ethy...

Apparatus and method for producing fibrous materials in which the apparatus includes an extrusion element configured to electrospin a substance from which the fibers are to be composed by an electric field extraction of the substance from a tip of the extrusion element, a collector disposed from the extrusion element and configured to collect the f...

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are commonly used in polymer formulations to improve strength, conductivity, and other attributes. A developing concern is the potential for carbon nanotube polymer nanocomposites to release nanoparticles into the environment as the polymer matrix degrades or is mechanically stressed. Here, we review character...

Three LDPE nanocomposites based on the nanoscale fillers, montmorillonite clay, silica, and zinc oxide were studied to determine if the reinforcement they imparted was accompanied by any change in the weatherability of the nanocomposite. Changes in weathering behavior were monitored in samples exposed to natural weathering outdoors over a period of...

An integrated sensor system was developed using mats formed of electrospun polymer/single-walled carbon nanotube composite nanofibers combined with inter-digitated electrodes directly printed on the surface to detect volatile organic compounds. When the polymer in the fibers swells due to vapor adsorption, the carbon nanotubes separate from each ot...

Three types of LDPE-based nanocomposites with montmorillonite clay, silica, and zinc oxide were prepared by melt blending the nanofiller with the resin. As a prelude to studying their durability, the extent of reinforcement of the LDPE matrix by the nanofillers was investigated using mechanical, thermal, and microscopic studies of the composites. N...

The parties to the Montreal Protocol are informed by three panels of experts. One of these is the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), which deals with two focal issues. The first focus is the effects of increased UV radiation on human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality, and materials. The second focus is on interaction...

This review discusses the mechanisms of generation and potential impacts of microplastics in the ocean environment. Weathering degradation of plastics on the beaches results in their surface embrittlement and microcracking, yielding microparticles that are carried into water by wind or wave action. Unlike inorganic fines present in sea water, micro...

Increased solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) reaches the surface of the Earth as a consequence of a depleted stratospheric ozone layer and changes in factors such as cloud cover, land-use patterns and aerosols. Climate change is expected to result in a 1.1-6.4 °C increase in average temperature by the end of this century, depending on location. Incre...

Electrospun polymer nanofiber materials have attracted tremendous interest in sensor applications as their effective sensing surface area dramatically increases with decreasing fiber diameter. The highly tunable polymer composite chemistry and surface functionality of the nanofiber material provides a wide platform for exploring different applicati...

The parties to the Montreal Protocol are informed by three panels of experts. One of these is the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), which deals with UV radiation and its effects on human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality and materials. Since 2000, the analyses and interpretation of these effects have included intera...

This article explains the history, from 1600 BC to 2008, of materials that are today termed 'plastics'. It includes production volumes and current consumption patterns of five main commodity plastics: polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate. The use of additives to modify the properties of these p...

Tissue engineering has largely focused on single tissue-type reconstruction (such as bone); however, the basic unit of healing in any clinically relevant scenario is a compound tissue type (such as bone, periosteum, and skin). Nanofibers are submicron fibrils that mimic the extracellular matrix, promoting cellular adhesion, proliferation, and migra...

After the enthusiastic celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 2007, the work for the protection of the ozone layer continues. The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel is one of the three expert panels within the Montreal Protocol. This EEAP deals with the increase of the UV irrad...

A thermal preconcentrator unit and a method for concentrating chemical species. The thermal preconcentrator unit includes a thermoelectric device having a temperature controlled surface and a sorbent material configured to concentrate the chemical species. The sorbent material is disposed on and in thermal contact with the temperature controlled su...

This year the Montreal Protocol celebrates its 20th Anniversary. In September 1987, 24 countries signed the 'Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer'. Today 191 countries have signed and have met strict commitments on phasing out of ozone depleting substances with the result that a 95% reduction of these substances has been ach...

Nanofibers made from non-absorbing polymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate) are solid structures that have one dimension (diameter) in the 10-1,000 nanometer (nm) range, while the other dimension (length) can be quite long. These nanofibers can be formed in either an oriented or random packing structure, and the surface morphology of the fiber ca...

Discover new and emerging applications of polymer nanofibers alongside the basic underlying science and technology. With discussions exploring such practical applications as filters, fabrics, sensors, catalysts, scaffolding, drug delivery, and wound dressings, the book provides polymer scientists and engineers with a comprehensive, practical "how-t...

Average Molecular Weight Selecting Solvents: Solubility Parameter Thermodynamic Criterion for Solubility Macromolecular Models Viscosity of Dilute Polymer Solutions Concentrated Polymer Solutions

Carbon Nanotubes in Nanofibers Metal–Nanofiber Composites Polymer–Clay Composites Decorated or Exocomposite Nanofibers

Drug Delivery Applications Scaffolding Applications of Nanofibers Other Applications Future Directions

Mat Porosity and Pore Size Distribution Nanofiber Diameters and Pore Sizes by Microscopy Mechanical Properties of Mats Single-Fiber Characterization Nanofiber Crystallinity

Nanofibers with Surface Porosity Core–Shell Nanofibers Highly Aligned Nanofiber Mats Mixed Polymer Nanofibers and Nanofiber Mats Crosslinked Nanofibers

Introduction to Air Filtration Nanofiber Sensors Inorganic Nanofibers

Nanoscale inorganic fillers with average particle sizes smaller by an order of magnitude or more compared to those of conventional fillers are becoming commercially available. The efficacy of these fillers used in polymer formulations and particularly their effect as photostabilizers are beginning to be investigated. These may enhance or retard pho...

This review examines the terminology and experimental approaches used to describe wavelength sensitivity in polymer photodegradation and summarizes the data published on the subject. Wavelength sensitivity or the efficacy of different regions or individual wavelengths in the ultra violet-visible region of the spectrum is usually expressed in terms...

Since the first assessments in 1989, the complexity of the linkages between ozone depletion, UV-B radiation and climate change has become more apparent. This makes it even clearer than before that we are dealing with long-term developments, which can be complicated by large year-to-year variability.

The largest ever meeting focusing on plastic debris in the environment was recently held in Redondo Beach, California ([1][1]). It is evident that plastic waste presents major concerns in aquatic habitats worldwide. However, this meeting differed from previous efforts/gatherings because

The complexity of the linkages between ozone depletion, UV-B radiation and climate change has become more apparent.