
Fabiana CoramiInstitute of Polar Sciences CNR-ISP Italian National Research Council
Fabiana Corami
Environmental Sciences PhD
Additives, plasticizers, and small microplastics (100-5 µm) in aerosol, snow, biota, and other environmental matrices.
About
107
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Introduction
My current research interests are microplastics, especially small microplastics (100 µm), additives, plasticizers, and all other components of micro-litter (natural and non-plastic fibers, coatings, etc.) in the environment and in biota. I am working on quantification and simultaneous identification of microplastics via Micro-FTIR. I am also working with Pyr/GC-MS to study microplastics
Additional affiliations
December 2016 - present
January 2000 - March 2016
Education
November 1998 - February 2002
January 1986 - July 1995
Publications
Publications (107)
In this study, the abundance and the distribution of small microplastics (<100 μm, SMPs) and of other components of micro-litter (i.e., additives, plasticizers, natural and non-plastic synthetic fibers, APFs) were investigated in sediments and seawater of three different sites of a transitional environment; different anthropogenic impacts and envir...
Highway stormwater (HSW) runoff is a significant pathway for transferring microplastics from land-based sources to the other surrounding environmental compartments. Small microplastics (SMPs, 5–100 μm), additives, plasticizers, natural, and nonplastic synthetic fibers, together with other components of micro-litter (APFs), were assessed in HSW samp...
The atmosphere is a significant pathway for distributing plastic particles and other micro-litter particles from their sources to other environmental compartments. There is a big gap regarding the standardized method for the quantification and identification of airborne microplastics (MPs), especially those in the range of 5-100 μm (small microplas...
Road dust is one of the environment’s most important microplastic and plastic additive sources. Traffic vehicles and the wear of tires can release these emerging contaminants, which can be resuspended in the air and washed off by stormwater runoff. In this study, a concurrent quantification and chemical characterization of additives, plasticizers,...
Highway stormwater (HSW) runoff is among the environment’s most important sources of microplastics. This study aimed to characterize via vibrational spectroscopy and quantify SMPs (small microplastics < 100 µm) in HSW runoff from a trafficked highway entering a facility equipped with a filtration system and in those flowing out to the receiving wat...
Microplastics pollution is being unanimously recognized as a global concern in all environments. Routine analysis protocols foresee that samples, which are supposed to contain up to hundreds of microplastics, are eventually collected on nanoporous filters and inspected by microspectroscopy techniques like micro-FTIR or micro-Raman. All particles, w...
As a first contribute to assess the effect of the collection device and the sampling site on the plastisphere distribution and metabolism, in May 2021, microplastics (MPs) were collected at two coastal Tyrrhenian stations (Gulf of Naples and Castelsardo) at 0 m (using Niskin bottles and Manta net) and in the first 16 m of the water column (0-16 m)...
This study aims to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative distribution patterns of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in the Italian industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) intended for food use. Concentration of REEs was assessed in inflorescences and stems of four cultivars of industrial hemp (i.e., Fedora 17, Ferimon, Futura 75, and Zenit) grown in thre...
Citation: Caruso, G.; Iannilli, V.; Vitale, G.; Vardè, M.; Oliverio, M.; Bogialli, S.; Litti, L.; Setini, A.; Rosso, B.; Corami, F. These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: The Arctic Ocean is undergoing several transformations because of global climate change. Small microplastics (SMPs) or nanoplastics (NPs) carried by marine aero...
As the definition reported by ECHA, microplastics (MPs) can hold within additives and plasticizers; they are part of microlitter together with natural and non-plastic synthetic fibers.
The atmosphere is considered one of the most important pathways for the transport of microplastics (MPs) from urban areas to far and remote places.
Background
The reuse of dredged sediments in ports and lagoons is a big issue as it should not affect the quality and the equilibrium of ecosystems. In the lagoon of Venice, sediment management is of crucial importance as sediments are often utilized to built-up structures necessary to limit erosion. However, the impact of sediment reuse on organis...
Microplastics are widespread in freshwater environments and could impact these ecosystems. Bivalves are freshwater organisms that are particularly exposed to microplastic contamination. Therefore, in this preliminary study, the accumulation of microplastics, plasticizers, and additives in the freshwater bivalves Anodonta cygnea was investigated thr...
The increasing production of plastics and the limitless applications, combined with poor management of waste, generated the widespread global presence of this material in all ecosystems. In particular, freshwaters are very threatened and impacted by microplastics, despite being less studied than marine environments. To fill this knowledge gap, moll...
Microplastics are widespread in freshwater environments and could impact these ecosystems. Bivalves are freshwater organisms that are particularly exposed to microplastic contamination. Therefore, in this preliminary study, the accumulation of microplastics, plasticizers, and additives in the freshwater bivalves Anodonta cygnea through active biomo...
An increasing number of researches have been published on MPs’ different freshwater ecosystems worldwide, including lakes, rivers, estuaries, and wetlands in both waters and sediments. Although the literature on plastics in freshwater is growing, data are globally disjointed about the evidence of concentrations of MPs and impacts on environmental f...
Plastic debris is ubiquitous in the environment resulting in potential threats to ecosystems, biota, or even human health. With global production and rapid expansion, the amount of anthropogenic plastic litter in all environmental matrices has increased dramatically over the last few years. Plastics started to reach the market at a large scale in t...
Microplastics are emerging pollutants of great concern since they are widely distributed in the environment. While the occurrence of microplastics was studied in marine and freshwaters, sediments, soil, and different classes of organisms, the atmosphere was somewhat understudied, although it can be the most significant
transport pathway from mid to...
Tire wear particles (TWPs) are one of the environment's most important emission sources of microplastics. In this work, chemical identification of these particles was carried out in highway stormwater runoff through cross-validation techniques for the first time. Optimization of a pre-treatment method (i.e., extraction and purification) was provide...
Development of a pre-treatment method to assess via Micro-FTIR (quantification and simultaneous identification) small microplastics (< 100 µm), plastic additives (e.g., plasticizers, curing agents, antistatic agents, lubricants, vulcanizers, etc.), and natural and non-plastic synthetic fibers in atmospheric aerosol
Seabirds accumulate mercury (Hg) due to their long-life span together with their high trophic position. A Hg monitoring in Venice’s Lagoon using three seabird species occupying different trophic habitat (Thalasseus sandvicensis, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, and Chroicocephalus ridibundus) confirmed that fledgelings might effectively be used as senti...
This report refers on fieldwork activity done in August-September 2022 in the framework of the project MICROTRACER (PRA_0005). Sediment samples were collected from 10 sites, located across Krossfjorden and Kongsfjorden, on board of MS Teisten with a grab or manually from the coast. Amphipods were sampled in front of Ny-Alesund harbour and in the co...
The Micro-FTIR Nicolet TM iN TM 10 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used to identify anthropogenic particles. 22 fields of each filter (one replicate sample) were analyzed using a photomontage of 64 co-scans (spatial resolution 100 µm, aperture 100 µm x 100 µm) in the spectral range of 4000-1200 cm-1. Particles and fibers were selected by utilizing W...
Microplastics (MPs), especially those below 100 µm (small microplastics, SMPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), are emerging contaminants whose presence is ubiquitous. They represent a concern for seawater, freshwater, sediments, soil, and air, since they may adversely affect ecosystem functions, but they can be a hazard also for biota and human health. Mic...
This study is the first to investigate the ingestion of microplastics (MPs), plasticizers, additives, and particles of micro-litter <100 μm by larvae of Simuliidae (Diptera) in rivers. Blackflies belong to a small cosmopolitan insect family whose larvae are present alongside river courses, often with a torrential regime, up to their mouths. Specime...
This topic, “Plastic pollution in marine and freshwater biota”, will provide an update on plastic pollution and its consequences on aquatic ecosystems, with a particular focus on biological domains. Papers dealing with the origin, fate and effects of plastics in marine and freshwater environments, and their interactions with their biotic components...
The massive presence of micro and nanoplastics in the environment is a direct consequence of the excessive and often out of place use of plastic materials. The potential impact caused by fragments of plastic material on human health, through their accumulation in the body, is directly dependent on the presence of the same fragments in the environme...
PREPRINT CORRECTED PROOF
One of the aims of this study is the development of a pretreatment method for additives, plasticizers and other components of micro-litter (APFs), and small microplastics (SMPs <100 μm) in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of five of the most widely distributed and consumed commercial fish species, Engraulis encrasiculos, Sa...
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are increasingly exploited for crucial new technologies, and their massive use in the past decades has significantly increased their environmental concentrations. Although their effects have been extensively studied in vitro and in vivo in model species, little is known of their accumulation and potential toxic effects in...
Synthetic fibers are one of the major sources of primary microplastics. The focus of this webinar is the abundance and distribution of synthetic fibers from the discharges of washing machines, and potential solutions and good behaviors to adopt.
The language is Italian.
You can follow the link
https://youtu.be/eWIWl_yjoY0?feature=shared
In this study, the abundance and the distribution of small microplastics (<100 μm, SMPs) and of other components of micro-litter (i.e., additives, plasticizers, natural and non-plastic synthetic fibers, APFs) were investigated in sediments and seawater of three different sites of a transitional environment; different anthropogenic impacts and envir...
Human exposure to nano- and microplastics (NMPs) has raised major societal concerns, yet no framework to assess the risks of NMPs for human health exists. A substantial proportion of plastic produced worldwide is not properly
disposed and persists in the environment for decades while degrading. Plastic degradation generates a size continuum of frag...
The webinar is in Italian.
It is an introduction to the plastic world
follow the link
https://youtu.be/WhxxjBbKQrI?feature=shared
In this study, recent and aged inputs of five classes of organic contaminants (i.e. PCBs, OCPs, PCDD/Fs, PAHs, and n-Alkanes) were evaluated in eight deep sediment cores of the Venice Lagoon, collected along the path of a new waterway whose excavation is under evaluation by local authorities, to assess the environmental quality status of the area....
Despite the key role that areas close to the rivers Cầu and Ngũ Huyện Khê (Bắc Giang Province, Northern Vietnam) play in the socio-economic development of Vietnam, poor information is available on the level of contaminants and their natural backgrounds in local soils and sediments. To partially fill this gap and to take into account for pressures a...
Microplastics are present in all environmental compartments (e.g. water, soil, sediments, etc.) and they are considered emerging pollutants. The European Chemical Agency (ECHA, 2019) has defined microplastics as “a material composed of solid polymer-containing particles, to which additives or other substances may have been added, with particle dime...
Microplastics (MPs) are present in fresh, brackish, or marine waters. Micro- and macroinvertebrates can mistake MPs or small microplastics (SMPs, <100 μm) to be food particles and easily ingest them according to the size of their mouthparts. SMPs may then block the passage of food through the intestinal tract (i.e. hepatopancreas), accumulate withi...
Despite the exponential increase of studies on plastic debris in recent years, there are still few works focusing on the problem as it relates to inland waters: little is known about the accumulation and dispersion dynamics on lake shores, and there are no standardized sampling methods for monitoring purposes. The accumulation of plastic litter in...
To evaluate the hazard assessment of dredging and disposal of sediments, an in-depth chemical and toxicological characterization of sediments was carried out in Venice Lagoon. The bioaccessible and mobile concentration of trace elements in superficial and deep sediments (in the Holocene-Pleistocene limit) can deeply affect the quality of the aquati...
Microplastic contamination of the benthic invertebrate fauna in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) was determined. Twelve macrobenthic species, characterized by different feeding strategies, were selected at 3 sampling sites at increasing distance from the Italian Scientific Base (Mario Zucchelli, Camp Icarus, Adelie Cove). The 83% of the analyz...
Microplastics are emerging pollutants in all environmental compartments (e.g. water, soil,
sediments, etc.). Their contamination is well documented since 1970’s, although specific
references to this topic were made in the US and in Europe in 2008. Microplastic particles are generally classified according their sizes, but the classification has been...
Microplastics in the environment is a very important issue. My coworkers and I are currently working on the development of methods for the quantification and polymer identification of microplastiscs in different environmental matrices
The present paper provides the first record of ingestion of microplastics in natural context by Gammarus setosus from Svalbard Archipelago. The plastic particles were identified both by Nile Red staining and Micro FT-IR spectroscopy. The species studied ingests microplastic particles in natural conditions if present in its habitat, probably mistaki...
A non-invasive study of trace element accumulation in tail feathers of the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) was performed along the coastline of the northern littoral strip of the Venice Lagoon, with the aim to verify whether contamination may be a factor affecting conservation status of Kentish plover populations. Body burdens in feathers...
A sequential TIE procedure combining in a single framework Phase I manipulations and Phase II methods, including chemical analyses and complementary Phase I treatments, was proposed for characterization and identification of toxicants of concern in estuarine environments. Interstitial water was chosen as test matrix and embryo-larval development wi...
Microplastics pose a worldwide risk for the environment. Microplastic fibers, which are released during the household washing of synthetic fabrics, are a substantial percentage of microplastics in rivers and in oceans. A novel quantification and simultaneous identification of fiber polymers via Micro-FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) w...
The presence of free phenolic compounds (PC) in Antarctic sea water has been investigated to explain their source and particle size distribution in the atmospheric aerosols, as determined in our previous research. The sea water samples were filtered to distinguish the PC concentrations in the particulate and dissolved fractions. Two sample preparat...
A sustainable management of contaminated sediments, in particular in composite and fragile
ecosystems, needs the updating of the legislation with new scientific knowledge. This is especially actual in the Venice lagoon, as has been pointed out in a recent article regarding the national and European legislation on dredged sediments administration. A...
For the first time a comprehensive investigation has been carried out to quantify the possible effects of dredging a navigable canal on the hydrogeological system underlying a coastal lagoon. The study is focused on the Venice Lagoon, Italy, where the port authority is planning to open a new 10 m deep and 3 km long canal to connect the city passeng...
In order to study the role of sediment re-suspension and deposition versus the role of organic complexation, we investigated the speciation of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in samples collected in the Venice Lagoon during several campaigns from 1992 to 2006. The increment in Cd and Pb concentration in the dissolved phases, observed in the...
For the first time a comprehensive investigation has been carried out to quantify the possible effects of dredging a navigable canal on the hydrogeological system underlying a coastal lagoon. The study is focused on the Venice Lagoon, Italy, where the Port Authority is planning to open, a new 10-m deep and 3-km long canal to connect the city passen...
Trace and rare earth elements (REE) have proven their utility as tools for assessing the genesis and early diagenesis of widespread geological bodies such as carbonate mounds, whose genetic processes are not yet fully understood. Carbonates from the Middle Devonian conical mud mounds of the Maïder Basin (eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco) have been analy...
Results of the analyses of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, U, V, and Zn in 30 samples from soils and sediments of the southwestern Bac Giang Province are discussed. Some values are relatively high, sometimes exceeding the Consensus Based Sediment Quality Guidelines (CB-SQGs). This means that minor and trace elements can be a thr...
Il complesso problema della gestione dei sedimenti marini e lagunari
In campo ambientale, vigono leggi che regolamentano la qualità delle acque naturali e dei sedimenti, qualità che è profondamente influenzata dalla presenza e/o assenza di composti inquinanti, siano esso organici ed inorganici. In particolare, vigono leggi che regolamentano la pre...
Sampling details and description of the environmental parameters during analysis are provided. Figures include the sampling stations and the spatial distribution of DA (picograms per milliliter), P-PO43− (micromolars), Si-Si(OH)4 (micromolars), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN = N-NO3- + N-NO2- + N-NH4+) (micromolars), chlorophyll a (micrograms per mi...
Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin produced by different algae, including pennate diatoms, principally from the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, and it is the main cause of amnesic shellfish poisoning. Determination of this toxin in seawater samples is fundamental to define the real contamination risks for aquatic species. We have developed two very sensitive...
The effects of humic acids and fulvic acids isolated from the River Arno (Italy) on the bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium and copper were assessed in relation to changes in their speciation. Measurements of the complexing capacity of solutions containing these organic ligands were carried out by a titration procedure followed by DPASV and tox...