Abundance and distribution of microplastics in the sediments of the estuary of seventeen rivers: Caspian southern coasts

Given the increase in plastic production, persistence, and toxicity in the environment, understanding the probability of microplastics (MPs) accumulation in the sediments of the rivers' estuary is urgently needed. In this study, sediments of the estuary of 17 rivers, ending to the Caspian Sea,...

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Veröffentlicht in:Marine pollution bulletin 2021-03, Vol.164, p.112044, Article 112044
Hauptverfasser: Ghayebzadeh, Mehdi, Taghipour, Hassan, Aslani, Hassan
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Given the increase in plastic production, persistence, and toxicity in the environment, understanding the probability of microplastics (MPs) accumulation in the sediments of the rivers' estuary is urgently needed. In this study, sediments of the estuary of 17 rivers, ending to the Caspian Sea, were evaluated at two depths (0–5 cm and 5–15 cm). Plastic particles were categorized into two groups in terms of size: small MPs and large MPs. The combination of observational techniques, FTIR, and SEM analysis was applied to identify MPs. The mean of MPs in 17 rivers was obtained at a depth of 0 to 15 cm of sediments 350.6 ± 232.6 MP/kg. The fiber was identified as the predominant particles in sediments, and foam-shaped particles were the least amount in the sediment. In terms of polymer structure, polyethylene (PE) (20%) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (2%) showed the highest and lowest prevalence, respectively. In the current study, the number of MPs was higher than the average of MPs in sediments of recreational-tourist areas and non-tourist areas of the southern Caspian coast. Results from this study indicate that sediments of the rivers' estuary are a hotspot of plastic particle pollution. Therefore, plastic management in the path of the Caspian catchment area of Iran, and cleaning rivers coast and rivers mouth from plastic is recommended. •The average of MPs in estuaries sediments was obtained 350.6 ± 232.6 MP/kg.•The mean of MPs in the top 5 cm was 152.8 ± 107.8 MP/kg.•The mean of MPs in 5–15 cm was 197.8 ± 131.9 MP/kg.•On the basis of morphology, fiber-shaped and film-shaped MPs showed the highest prevalence.•PE is the most common MPs observed in the studied samples.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112044