Microplastics’ presence in the pelagic environment is still largely unknown due to the difficulty of sampling in this part of the ocean. In this study, we quantify microplastics’ exposure in a pelagic lanternfish species from the western Mediterranean, Lampanyctus crocodilus (Risso 1810), which occupies an intermediate position in the marine food web. L. crocodilus were captured in the Ibiza Channel by a trawling vessel and microplastics were extracted by digestion of their gastrointestinal systems. Almost half of the analysed lanternfish contained microplastics, mostly blue and black fibres (40.9% and 34.66%, respectively). In fishes with at least one microplastic, the median was 3 MPs/fish (CI 95% = 3.46–6.8), similar to other studies performed in other fish species in the area. Biometric parameters of fish, such as total length and body condition, were not correlated with the number of microplastics. Data presented here contribute to quantifying the severity of microplastic pollution in the pelagic environment and in a wild, non-commercial species.

Microplastic ingestion has become a concern due to its potential adverse effects on human health. To further explore routes of microplastic exposure, this study investigated the release of microplastics from reusable plastic water bottles with straws designed for toddlers. The study involved prolonged storage of water bottles and mechanical abrasion, simulating the actions of drawing liquid and biting the straw. The release of microplastics was analyzed via laser direct infrared (LDIR) spectroscopy. The characterization results revealed that polypropylene (PP) is the primary material used in plastic bottles, with a minor blend of polyethylene (PE) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) confirmed as the material for the straw. The LDIR results revealed that PP microparticles measuring 20-50 μm were consistently present in water, whereas no PDMS was detected within the analytical size range and the detection capability of the applied methods. The exposure modeling results suggested that the daily polypropylene intake for toddlers aged 3-6 years old would be 1.2 ng/kg/day after 100 sips of water from a PP reusable water bottle, which might be associated with physical stress to the bottles during the experiments. Our findings highlight that toddlers' ingestion of microplastics is not incidental but may occur routinely through everyday practices, such as drinking water from plastic bottles.