Authors
Ayşah Öztekin
Published in
Environmental geochemistry and health. Volume 48. Issue 11. Jul 17, 2026. Epub Jul 17, 2026.
Abstract
The discovery of emerging plastic formations, such as pyroplastics, plastiglomerates, plastimetal and plastitar, in coastal environments has raised significant concerns regarding plastic pollution. Plastiglomerates are formed by melted plastic fused with rocks or pebbles, pyroplastics consist of melted plastic residues, plastimetals are physically attached plastic litter with a metal item, and plastitar is a composite material resulting from the accumulation and weathering of diverse plastic litter. Through field surveys and laboratory analyses, the physical and chemical characteristics of these materials were identified, and their occurrence in coastal habitats in the Turkish Black Sea coasts (Sinop) were reported. The beach surveys were conducted at two coastal sites, and 11 emerging plastic formations were confirmed through ATR-FTIR spectroscopy from 17 suspected items, predominantly composed of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyamide (PA), and polyvinyl fluoride (PVF). These emerging plastic forms highlight the complexity of plastic degradation and its interaction with coastal environments. The observed characteristics suggest that thermal alteration and inappropriate disposal of plastic waste may have contributed to the formation of these materials; however, no direct source attribution or contaminant analyses were performed. This study presents the first occurrence of emerging plastic formations on the Turkish Black Sea coast.
PMID:
42463556
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Jul 2026.
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