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Rabezanahary ANA, Kestemont P, Cornet V, Benali S, Laby P, Randrianarivo RH, Mong YJM, Raquez JM, Missawi O. Unseen riverine risk: Spatio-temporal shifts of microplastic pollution and its bioavailability in freshwater fish within the Ikopa River urban system. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:837. [PMID: 39180639 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-13010-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
Growing concern over microplastic pollution, driven by their widespread accumulation in the environment, stresses the need for comprehensive assessments. This study investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of microplastics in the Ikopa River (Antananarivo - Madagascar), which flows through a densely populated area, and examines their correlation with contamination levels in local fish species. By analyzing upstream and downstream stations across wet and dry seasons, only a notable increase in microplastic concentration downstream during the wet season was observed, ranging from 138.6 ± 9.0 to 222.0 ± 24.5 particles m-3, with polyethylene-co-vinyl acetate being the predominant polymer at 62.3 ± 5.13% of the total sampled polymers. This distribution underlines the impact of urban activities on pollution levels. Fish species, gambusia and Nile tilapia, were assessed for microplastic occurrence in gills and gastrointestinal tracts. Higher contamination rates were found in gambusia, enlightening the influence of feeding behaviour and fish habitat on microplastics contamination. Ingestion of microplastics directly from the water column was evident in both species, with the detection of high-density plastics such as polytetrafluoroethylene and polyvinyl chloride suggesting likely sediment contamination. This research highlights the widespread contamination of aquatic environments and its direct impact on local wildlife, pointing to a clear requirement for effective pollution management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andry Ny Aina Rabezanahary
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life, Earth & Environment, University of Namur, Rue Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
- Centre National de Recherches Sur L'Environnement (CNRE), Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Department of Fundamental and Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Patrick Kestemont
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life, Earth & Environment, University of Namur, Rue Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Valérie Cornet
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life, Earth & Environment, University of Namur, Rue Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Samira Benali
- Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers (CIRMAP), Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials (LPCM), University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Patrick Laby
- University of Antananarivo, ESSA-Forêts, Higher School of Agronomic Sciences, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Ranjàna Hanitra Randrianarivo
- Department of Fundamental and Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | - Jean-Marie Raquez
- Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers (CIRMAP), Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials (LPCM), University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Omayma Missawi
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life, Earth & Environment, University of Namur, Rue Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium.
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Ghanadi M, Joshi I, Dharmasiri N, Jaeger JE, Burke M, Bebelman C, Symons B, Padhye LP. Quantification and characterization of microplastics in coastal environments: Insights from laser direct infrared imaging. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168835. [PMID: 38029976 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
The study identified and quantified nine plastic polymers frequently detected in the environment by collecting sediment and seawater samples from coastal areas in Auckland, New Zealand. Polymer types, size distributions, and number of microplastics (MPs) were analyzed using a laser direct infrared (LDIR) imaging technique. Compared to conventional spectroscopic or microscopic methods, LDIR enabled capturing and quantifying MPs in much lower size ranges (20-5000 μm). The results demonstrated the widespread occurrence of MPs in the Auckland coastal environment, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) being the most frequently detected plastic polymer. MP contamination levels ranged from 13 to 83 particles per liter of coastal water and from 1200 to 3400 particles/kg of dry sand in beach sediments. Six additional locations were investigated to assess the contribution of MPs from stormwater drains to the coastal environment. The total count of identified MPs extracted from sediments near stormwater drains reached a maximum of 18,000 particles/kg of dry sand, representing an order of magnitude increase compared to MP levels found in beach sediments at the same location. In contrast to the prevalence of PET and polyamide observed in beach sediments and coastal waters, polyurethane and polyethylene emerged as the predominant plastic polymers in the vicinity of stormwater drain sediments, implying that the variation could potentially stem from distinct sources of plastics. This significant disparity in quality and quantity underscored the potential link between urban runoff and MP pollution in marine ecosystems. A sample preparation method using 100 g sediment samples was developed and used to assess and compare MPs detection in sediment samples. The commonly used 5 g sample method showed higher extraction efficiency and better detection of the most abundant MPs, but the new 100 g method enabled the detection of previously missed, less abundant plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahyar Ghanadi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Isha Joshi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Nirupama Dharmasiri
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Julia E Jaeger
- Eurofins Environment Testing Australia & New Zealand, Australia
| | - Matthew Burke
- Eurofins Environment Testing Australia & New Zealand, Australia
| | - Cathy Bebelman
- Auckland Transport, 20 Viaduct Harbor Ave, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Bob Symons
- Eurofins Environment Testing Australia & New Zealand, Australia
| | - Lokesh P Padhye
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
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Jaafar N, Musa SM, Azfaralariff A, Mohamed M, Yusoff AH, Lazim AM. Improving the efficiency of post-digestion method in extracting microplastics from gastrointestinal tract and gills of fish. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 260:127649. [PMID: 32688323 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Post-digestion treatment is an important step during sample preparation to facilitate the removal of undigested materials for better detection of ingested microplastics. Sieving, density separation with zinc chloride solution (ZnCl2), and oil extraction protocol (OEP) have been introduced in separating microplastics from sediments. The clean-up methods are rarely highlighted in previous studies, especially in the separation of microplastics from marine biota. Thus, this study proposed and compared the suitability of three techniques, which can reduce the number of undigested particles from the digestate of GIT and gills. Our result has shown excellent removal of non-plastics materials and reduces the coloration of filter paper in all treated samples. Both sieving and density separation achieved optimum post-digestion efficiencies of >95% for both GIT and gill samples, which former showed no effect on polymer integrity. Additionally, high recovery rate was obtained for the larger size microplastics (>500 μm) with approximately 97.7% (GIT) and 95.7% (gill), respectively. Exposure to the ZnCl2 solution led to a significant loss of smaller size PET and changed the absorption spectrums of all tested polymers. Particle morphology determined by SEM revealed such exposure eroded the surface of PET fragments and elemental analysis has shown detectable peaks of zinc and chlorine appeared. Low microplastics recoveries were achieved through OPE and residue of oil was observed from the infrared spectrum of all tested polymer. The findings demonstrate sieving with size fractioning can provide exceptional removal of non-plastics materials from the digestate of GIT and gill samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norhazwani Jaafar
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Syafiq M Musa
- Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Ahmad Azfaralariff
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Mazlan Mohamed
- Advanced Material Research Cluster (AMRC) Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology (FBET), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Kampus Jeli, Locked Bag 100, 17600, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Abdul Hafidz Yusoff
- Advanced Material Research Cluster (AMRC) Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology (FBET), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Kampus Jeli, Locked Bag 100, 17600, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Azwan Mat Lazim
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
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