Abstract

The occurrence and impacts of plastic are among the most concerns on the environment, ecosystems, and human health in recent years. Plastic products may contain harmful additives (e.g. phthalate, bisphenol) which can easily be leached out of the surface of the plastic materials and enter the environment causing negative effects on organisms in aquatic ecosystems. However, the toxicity of the leached plastic additives on aquatic organisms including micro-crustaceans have not been fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the chronic effects of the leachate from the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) water pipes at the concentration of 0, 10 and 100 mg PVC/L on the survival and reproduction of two micro-crustacean species: Daphnia magna, and Ceriodaphnia cornuta. The results showed that the leachate from PVC pipes at the concentration of 100 mg/L did not adversely affect on survival and reproduction of D. magna, but reduced up to 50% of the survival rate and 60% of the reproduction of C. cornuta. The tropical micro-crustacean species C. cornuta was more vulnerable than the temperate one, D. magna. The results revealed the potential health risks of the PVC water pipes C. cornuta was recommended to be used as a model organism for the toxicological investigation and environmental assessment.