Strategies for Monitoring Microbial Life in Beach Sand for Protection of Public Health.

The 2021 revised guidelines of the World Health Organization recommend monitoring the quality of sand in addition to water at recreational beaches. This review provides background information about the types of beaches, the characteristics of sand, and the microbiological parameters that should be measured. Analytical approaches are described for quantifying fungi and fecal indicator bacteria from beach sand. The review addresses strategies to assess beach sand quality, monitoring approaches, sand remediation, and the proposed way forward for beach sand monitoring programs. In the proposed way forward, recommendations are provided for acceptable levels of fungi given their distribution in the environment. Additional recommendations include evaluating FIB distributions at beaches globally to assess acceptable ranges of FIB levels, similar to those proposed for fungi.

What potential does the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive have for reducing plastic pollution at coastlines and riversides? An evaluation based on citizen science data.

To address environmental pollution by plastic litter, the European Union adopted EU Directive 2019/904, the so called "Single-Use Plastics Directive" (SUPD), which bans several single-use plastic products and addresses additional items with measures such as extended producer responsibility and obligatory requirements for product redesign. This study assessed the potential of the SUPD to reduce litter pollution in the environment with three scenarios. The "best case" scenario assumed that all measures of the SUPD completely prevent targeted items from getting into the environment. Another scenario assumed that no measures besides bans were effective. An intermediate scenario assumed partial effectiveness of measures. Data of almost 5,000 sampling events from citizen science protocols (Plastic Pirates, International Coastal Cleanup, Marine Litter Watch) and the OSPAR protocol were used to analyse litter at riversides and coastlines in Germany and the European Union. 44 to 68% of litter items in citizen science protocols consisted of single-use plastics (cigarette butts were the most prominent items). At coastlines sampled by the OSPAR protocol, fishing gear and undefined plastics prevailed. The scenario analysis revealed that substantial litter reductions could be achieved in the "best case" scenario (upwards of 40%), while the intermediate scenario resulted in litter reductions of 13 to 25%. The marginal effect of the "only bans" scenario achieved a reduction of 2-6% in Germany and the European Union, respectively. Thus, depending on implementation and enforcement, the current SUPD can be an important first step, yet further legislative actions are needed to effectively prevent plastic waste pollution.

Microbial communities in the water surface microlayer and associations with microbes in aerosols, beach sand, and bulk water.

The water surface microlayer (SML) serves as a boundary through which microbes can be exchanged. To evaluate exchanges of microbes, this study compared microbial communities within different reservoirs, with an emphasis on the water SML and aerosols. Additionally, the microbial communities during a sewage spill and perigean tides were evaluated and the results were compared to times without these events. Results show that during perigean tides and during the sewage spill, levels of culturable bacteria were highest and showed an increase via sequencing in potential pathogenic bacteria (Corynebacterium and Vibrio, which increased from 3.5%-1800% depending on sample type). In the aerosol samples, Corynebacterium (average of 2.0%), Vibrio (1.6%), and Staphylococcus (10%), were the most abundant genera. Aerosolization factors, which were used to examine the transfer of the microbes, were high for these three genera. Measurements of general marine bacteria (GMB) by culture showed a weak but significant correlation between culturable GMB in aerosol samples versus in water and in the SML. More research is needed to evaluate the exchange of pathogens between the SML and air, given the increase in potentially pathogenic microbes within the SML during rare events and evidence that suggests that microbes maintain viability during transfers across reservoirs.

Assessing the effectiveness of MARPOL Annex V at reducing marine debris on Australian beaches.

To mitigate marine debris and promote sustainable marine industries, legislation and regulations surrounding the management of marine debris have been adopted worldwide. One of the most well-known and important agreements is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which focuses on reducing all types of ship-sourced marine pollution. MARPOL Annex V, which deals with the disposal of solid waste, came into force on 31 December 1988. However, was only amended to include a complete ban on waste disposal as of 1 January 2013. Assessing the effectiveness of key regulations is fundamental for supporting evidence-based decisions regarding the management of our oceans. Here, we evaluated whether MARPOL Annex V translated into a decrease in the incidence of shipping- and commercial fishing-sourced debris on remote beaches in Australia using 14 years of standardised, community-driven data. From 2006 to 2020 there was a significant change over time in the density of fishing and shipping debris on Australian beaches; debris density increased up to 2013 followed by a decrease until mid-2017. Although the new regulation started in January 2013, the decrease in density was not recorded until one year later. The decline was only observed for 4 years, reinforcing the existence of lags between the implementation of international agreements and the corresponding potential reduction in debris in the environment. This provides compelling evidence that international agreements and policies by themselves are not enough to solve the debris problem, with improved implementation and enforcement also required. We discuss future perspectives and solutions to reduce ocean-sourced litter inputs into the ocean and highlight the urgent need for action.

Rajids ovipositing on marine litter: A potential threat to their survival.

Marine litter is a complex environmental issue threatening the well-being of multiple organisms. In the present study, we present an overlooked pathway by which marine litter interaction with certain ovigerous skates (Family: Rajidae) communities could compromise their survival. We propose that skates from the genus Sympterygia deposit their egg capsules on marine litter substrates by accident, which are then washed ashore still unhatched. We conducted 10 monitoring surveys on three beaches of La Libertad Region, on the north coast of Peru, looking for marine litter conglomerates to determine the presence of egg capsules. We registered a total of 75 marine litter conglomerates, containing 1595 egg capsules, out of which only 15.9 % were presumably hatched, and 15.8 % were still fresh. Fishing materials were identified as the main item in marine litter conglomerates. We conclude that this behavior could contribute to the decline of Sympterygia communities, although further research is needed.

Beach litter sources around Nuuk, Greenland: An analysis by UArctic summer school graduate course students.

Modeling studies illustrate the potential for long-range transport of plastics into the Arctic, although the degree to which this occurs remains relatively undocumented. We utilised a teaching exercise at a UArctic summer school graduate course in Nuuk, Greenland to conduct a preliminary in-depth analysis of beach litter sources in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord. Students and instructors collected and analysed 1800 litter items weighing 200 kg from one location in the fjord and another at its mouth. The results suggest a predominance of local sources to macrolitter, rather than long-range transport from Europe. Fisheries-related items and rope were common. Packaging which could be identified was largely suspected to be products distributed in Greenland, and soft plastics, which rarely disperse far from its source, were also common. The results suggest local measures to reduce mismanaged waste and emissions from fisheries are important for reducing marine litter in West Greenland.

Beach litter in three South American countries: A baseline for restarting monitoring and cleaning after COVID-19 closure.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused that most countries established the closure of many beaches, affecting the scientific monitoring of thousands of coastal sectors. This article shows the status of beach litter in South America before and after COVID-19 closure. The data were obtained during the years 2019, 2020 and 2022 on 25 beaches using a technique BLAT-QQ. The results show that cigarette butts were the most frequent type of litter, meanwhile Brazil should improve cleanliness of general gross litter and gross polystyrene. Colombia gross vegetation litter and small vegetation litter, and Ecuador organic litter from animals. The results shown in qualitative and quantitative manner facilitate their understanding for managers, scholars and activists interested on beach litter monitoring. This baseline is useful to analyse regional and worldwide marine litter trends with the purpose to start or restart monitoring of tourist beaches from a science-based method.

COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in coastal areas of Granada, Spain.

The use of disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) as a control measure to avoid transmission against COVID-19 has generated a challenge to the waste management and enhances plastic pollution in the environment. The research aims to monitor the presence of PPE waste and other plastic debris, in a time interval where the use of face mask at specific places was still mandatory, on the coastal areas of Granada (Spain) which belongs to the Mediterranean Sea. Four beaches called La Rijana, La Charca, La Rábita and Calahonda were examined during different periods. The total amount of sampled waste was 17,558 plastic units. The abundance, characteristics and distribution of PPE and other plastic debris were determined. Results showed that the observed amount of total plastic debris were between 2.531·10-2 and 24.487·10-2 units per square meter, and up to 0.136·10-2 for PPE debris, where face masks represented the 92.22 % of the total PPE debris, being these results comparable to previous studies in other coastal areas in the world. On the other hand, total plastic debris densities were in the range from 2.457·10-2 to 92.219·10-2 g/m2 and densities were up to 0.732·10-2 for PPE debris. PPE debris supposed 0.79 % of the weight of total waste and the 0.51 % of total items. Concerning non-PPE plastic waste: cigarettes filters, food containers and styrofoam were the most abundant items (42.95, 10.19 and 16.37 % of total items, respectively). During vacation periods, total plastic debris amount increased 92.19 % compared to non-vacation periods. Regarding type of beaches, the presence of plastic debris was significantly higher on touristic/recreational than in fishing beaches. Data showed no significant differences between accessible and no-accessible beaches, but between periods with restrictive policy about mask face use and periods with non-restrictive policy data suggest significant differences between densities (g/m2) for PPE litter. The amount of PPEs debris is also correlated with the number of cigarettes filters (Person's r = 0.650), food containers (r = 0.782) and other debris (r = 0.63). Finally, although interesting results were provided in this study, further research is required to better understand the consequences of this type of pollution and to provide viable solutions to this problem.

Effectiveness of hierarchical Bayesian models for citizen science data with missing values: A case study on the factors influencing beach litter in Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

Citizen science can play an important role in addressing the issue of marine debris. However, citizen science data are often composed of inconsistent methods compared to data collected by experts. In this study, we applied beach cleanup data, collected in different survey years at different survey sites, to a hierarchical Bayesian model to elucidate the factors affecting the distribution of beach litter. The results showed the model accounting for differences between years had a smaller Watanabe-Akaike Information criterion than the model that did not account for it, indicating better accuracy of the model. The amount of beach litter was influenced by current velocity and bay openness, and these effects varied across years. The results indicate that citizen science data, which may contain missing values due to various constraints such as economic and human resources, can make an important contribution toward solving marine debris issues by flexible statistical analysis methods.

Spatio-temporal variability in the abundance and composition of beach litter and microplastics along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Abundance and composition of beach litter and microplastics (20-5000 µm, excluding fibres) were assessed in spring and autumn 2018 at various beaches along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. The beach litter survey followed the OSPAR guidelines, while microplastics were extracted from sediment samples using density separation and were then identified with Raman µ-spectroscopy. We observed seasonality in the abundance and composition, but not in the mass of beach litter. The median microplastic abundance was 2 particles per 500 g of dry sediment in spring as well as in autumn, while six different synthetic polymers (PE, PP, PS, PET, PVC, POM) were detected. We found no correlation between the abundances of beach litter and microplastics. Our data represent the first systematic co-assessment of macro- and micro beach litter along the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein.

Bacterial Colonization of Microplastics at the Beaches of an Oceanic Island, Tenerife, Canary Islands.

(1) Isolated systems, such as oceanic islands, are increasingly experiencing important problems related to microplastic debris on their beaches. The formation of microbial biofilm on the surface of microplastics present in marine environments provides potential facilities for microorganisms to survive under the biofilm. Moreover, microplastics act as a vehicle for the dispersion of pathogenic organisms, constituting a new route of exposure for humans. (2) In this study, the microbial content (FIO and Vibrio spp. and Staphylococcus aureus) of microplastics (fragments and pellets) collected from seven beaches of the oceanic island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), was determined. (3) Results showed that Escherichia coli was present in 57.1% of the fragments and 28.5% of the pellets studied. In the case of intestinal Enterococci, 85.7% of the fragments and 57.1% of the pellets tested positive for this parameter. Finally, 100% of the fragments and 42.8% of the pellets analyzed from the different beaches contained Vibrio spp. (4) This study shows that microplastics act as reservoirs of microorganisms that can increase the presence of bacteria indicating faecal and pathogenic contamination in bathing areas.

Analysis and forecasting of national marine litter based on coastal data in South Korea from 2009 to 2021.

In this study, statistical analysis and forecasting were performed using coastal litter data of Korea. The analysis indicated that rope and vinyl accounted for the highest proportion of coastal litter items. The statistical analysis of the national coastal litter trends revealed that the greatest concentration of litter was observed during summer months (June-August). To predict the amount of coastal litter per meter, recurrent neural network (RNN)-based models were used. Neural basis expansion analysis for interpretable time series forecasting (N-BEATS) and neural hierarchical interpolation for time series forecasting (N-HiTS), an improved model of N-BEATS recently announced, were used for comparison with RNN-based models. When predictive performance and trend followability were evaluated, overall N-BEATS and N-HiTS outperformed RNN-based models. Furthermore, we found that average of N-BEATS and N-HiTS models yielded better results than using one model.

Assessment on the pollution level and risk of microplastics on bathing beaches: a case study of Liandao, China.

Microplastic pollution on bathing beaches threatens the health of human beings and coastal organisms. There is a lack of assessment on the level of microplastic pollution and the health risk associated with plastics. As one of the earliest open bathing beaches in China, Liandao is well known as the two high-quality beaches. However, little is known about the extent of microplastic pollution on these bathing beaches. Based on the analysis of microplastic pollution abundance, distribution, shape, size, color, and composition at the Liandao bathing beaches, this study puts forward a novel approach to comprehensively evaluate the microplastic pollution level and risk level by using the Nemerow pollution index (NPI) and polymer hazard index (PHI). The results show that the average abundance of microplastics on the Liandao bathing beaches is 135.42 ± 49.58 items/kg; the main shapes are fibers, fragments, and granules. Most of the microplastics are transparent, brown, and black, accounting for 71.54%, and they have an average particle size of 0.63 ± 0.43 mm. The main components are PE, PP, PS, PET, and nylon, of which nylon appears in the highest proportion (54.77%). The microplastic NPI and PHI values are 0.38 and 74.81, respectively, indicating that the pollution level and health risk index of microplastics on the Liandao bathing beaches are both low. With the increase in population and per capita consumption, plastic waste generated on land will continue to increase. Finally, this study puts forward some suggestions regarding microplastic monitoring, plastic waste management, and environmental attitudes and behavior.

Darwin's paradise contaminated by marine debris. Understanding their sources and accumulation dynamics.☆.

Plastic pollution is a global environmental threat. Remote and pristine islands are not safe from this threat. Here, we estimated beach macro- (>25 mm), meso- (5-25 mm) and microdebris (<5 mm) levels in Galapagos and studied the role of environmental variables determining their accumulation. The vast majority of beach macro- and mesodebris were plastic, while most microdebris were cellulosic. The levels of beach macro-, meso- and microplastics were notably high and comparable with exceptional levels reported in contaminated areas. Oceanic currents and the anthropic pressure of use of the beach were the main factors that determined the level of macro- and mesoplastics, as well as the diversity of items, with more types of items in the beaches facing the predominant current. Microplastic levels were mainly driven by the slope and, to some extent, the grain size of the sediment in the beach. The absence of relationship between the levels of large size debris and the level of microplastics suggests that secondary microplastics that accumulated in the beaches were previously fragmented before arriving to the beach. This differential influence of environmental factors in the accumulation of marine debris according to their size should be taken into account when developing strategies to mitigate plastic pollution. Additionally, this study reports high levels of marine debris reported in a remote and protected area such as Galapagos, which are comparable to areas with direct sources of marine debris. This is especially worrying for Galapagos since the sampled beaches are cleaned at least annually. This fact highlights the global dimension of this environmental threat that demands further extensive international commitment to conserve some of the last paradises on Earth.

From source to sink: A comparative study of streamside and beach litter in the Black Sea.

The increasing amount of marine litter pollution and its impact on the marine environment raises global concern. This study aims to reveal the effect of streams on marine litter density and composition. A total of ten stations on the southeastern Black Sea and six stations on the Manahoz stream were seasonally surveyed. The litter density ranged between 0.838 ± 0.33 and 4.01 ± 0.55 items/m2 in the beach stations, and 0.93 ± 0.27 2.40 ± 2.18 items/m2 in the streamside stations. No significant difference was determined among the seasons for both beach and streamside (Kruskal-Wallis test, p > 0.05). On the other hand, the litter density was also similar in beach and streamside stations in the same season. The litter composition consisted of > 75% plastic. Principal component analysis and PERMANOVA determined no significant difference in litter composition among beach and streamside stations. The litter items mostly consisted of single-use items. Among them, plastic beverage containers were the most abundant litter subcategory during the study (ranging between 18.79% and 34.50%). The subcategory composition exhibited a significant difference among beach and streamside stations (ANOSIM, p < 0.05), which was mainly explained by plastic pieces, beverage containers, and foams according to SIMPER analysis. Personal protection equipment that was not reported before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. The results of our study can be used for marine litter modeling studies and legislation for restriction or ban of most abundant single-use litter items.

Microplastic levels on sandy beaches: Are the effects of tourism and coastal recreation really important?

This study assessed the effect of tourism and other recreational activities on microplastic (MP) levels and their characteristics in the sand and surf zone of the seawater. Six sites were chosen belonging to three sandy beaches with similar geomorphologic and morphodynamic characteristics but with different tourism activities. On average, a concentration of 1133.3 ± 811.3 items/kg dry weight (d.w.) and 12.7 ± 14.9 items/m3 were found in the sand and seawater samples, respectively. Fibers and films predominated and were less than 1 mm in length. In the sand, the films mainly matched the PE polymer spectra and the fibers matched PET polymer, cotton, and indigo blue dye; in the seawater samples, PP films and PET fibers prevailed. At the Pehuén-Co - Monte Hermoso Coastal Marine MPA where the flow of tourists is low, the MP levels were the lowest and the largest particles were found, mainly blue or black fibers, with less polymer diversity, cotton and PET being the most prevalent suggesting a recent input of textile fibers to this site. Moreover, the highest concentration of MPs was found on the southern site of a beach considered to be more pristine due to negligible human activity, including the smallest size pattern, mostly composed of white films or fibers with a greater diversity of polymers, predominantly PE > PET > PP. A great occurrence of PVC white films was also found in the surf zone at this site. Proximity to the mouth of a river, littoral drift, and other point sources were identified as the main sources, indicating that, apart from the local tourism and recreational activities, other sources might play a major role in the input of MPs to sandy beaches, such as extensive/intensive agricultural land use and irrigation areas.

Dunal plants intercepting macrolitter: Implications for beach clean-ups.

Coastal vegetation intercepts macroplastics and, consequently, it may represent a reservoir of anthropogenic litter and organic wrack. We aimed at investigating (i) the abundance variation of macrolitter from the beach to foredune and backdune (three cross-shore plots over 20 long-shore sectors) and (ii) the role of the halo-psammophilous plants and Phragmites australis reedbed in intercepting the macrolitter, respectively, in the foredunes and backdunes. The vegetation in the foredunes (mainly halo-psammophilous species) acted as a first interception belt for macrolitter, while the bigger litter reached the backdunes. Our results might be of great concern with implications for beach clean-ups - which must also be mainly focused in foredunes and backdunes, however warning operators in advance that they could damage the vegetation by trampling on.

Investigating variability among fisheries litter accumulation on beaches in Paraná, Brazil.

Fishing activities strongly influence coastal and marine environments and are responsible for generating marine litter. In southern Brazil, there are several artisanal (small-scale) fisher settlements that potentially contribute towards regional marine litter. The present study sought to address the deficit in available information by investigating the in situ contribution of artisanal fishing communities to marine litter on adjacent beaches. During one month in the 2019 austral winter, 200-m stretches of beach were investigated at four locations (three artisanal fishing and one control community) in Paraná state. In total, 2196 items were collected; among which only 104 (<5 %) were fisheries related and these remained partially independent of the presence of the three fishing communities across both small and large spatial scales (i.e., from m to km). Rather than the presence of fishing communities, fisheries-related litter appears to primarily originate from external sources and may regionally accumulate via natural vectors such as oceanic currents.

Plastic waste in sandy beaches and surface water in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam: abundance, characterization, and sources.

The occurrence and characterization of marine debris on beaches bring opportunities to track back the anthropogenic activities around shorelines as well as aid in waste management and control. In this study, the three largest beaches in Thanh Hoa (Vietnam) were examined for plastic waste, including macroplastics (≥ 5 mm) on sandy beaches and microplastics (MPs) (< 5 mm) in surface water. Among 3803 items collected on the beaches, plastic waste accounted for more than 98%. The majority of the plastic wastes found on these beaches were derived from fishing boats and food preservation foam packaging. The FT-IR data indicated that the macroplastics comprised 77% polystyrene, 17% polypropylene, and 6% high-density polyethylene, while MPs discovered in surface water included other forms of plastics such as polyethylene- acrylate, styrene/butadiene rubber gasket, ethylene/propylene copolymer, and zein purified. FT-IR data demonstrated that MPs might also be originated from automobile tire wear, the air, and skincare products, besides being degraded from macroplastics. The highest abundance of MPs was 44.1 items/m3 at Hai Tien beach, while the lowest was 15.5 items/m3 at Sam Son beach. The results showed that fragment form was the most frequent MP shape, accounting for 61.4 ± 14.3% of total MPs. MPs with a diameter smaller than 500 µm accounted for 70.2 ± 7.6% of all MPs. According to our research, MPs were transformed, transported, and accumulated due to anthropogenic activities and environmental processes. This study provided a comprehensive knowledge of plastic waste, essential in devising long-term development strategies in these locations.

Relationship between coliphage and Enterococcus at southern California beaches and implications for beach water quality management.

Coliphage have been suggested as an alternative to fecal indicator bacteria for assessing recreational beach water quality, but it is unclear how frequently and at what types of beaches coliphage produces a different management outcome. Here we conducted side-by-side sampling of male-specific and somatic coliphage by the new EPA dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration (D-HFUF-SAL) method and Enterococcus at southern California beaches over two years. When samples were combined for all beach sites, somatic and male-specific coliphage both correlated with Enterococcus. When examined categorically, Enterococcus would have resulted in approximately two times the number of health advisories as somatic coliphage and four times that of male-specific coliphage,using recently proposed thresholds of 60 PFU/100 mL for somatic and 30 PFU/100 mL for male-specific coliphage. Overall, only 12% of total exceedances would have been for coliphage alone. Somatic coliphage exceedances that occurred in the absence of an Enterococcus exceedance were limited to a single site during south swell events, when this beach is known to be affected by nearby minimally treated sewage. Thus, somatic coliphage provided additional valuable health protection information, but may be more appropriate as a supplement to FIB measurements rather than as replacement because: (a) EPA-approved PCR methods for Enterococcus allow a more rapid response, (b) coliphage is more challenging owing to its greater sampling volume and laboratory time requirements, and (c) Enterococcus' long data history has yielded predictive management models that would need to be recreated for coliphage.