Microplastics pollution in salt pans from the Maheshkhali Channel, Bangladesh

Md Refat Jahan Rakib; Sultan Al Nahian; María B Alfonso; Mayeen Uddin Khandaker; Christian Ebere Enyoh; Fauziah Shahul Hamid; Abdullah Alsubaie; Abdulraheem S A Almalki; D A Bradley; Hamidreza Mohafez; Mohammad Aminul Islam

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02457-y

Microplastics pollution in salt pans from the Maheshkhali Channel, Bangladesh

Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 30;11(1):23187. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02457-y.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh. rifatjahanrakib@gmail.com.
² Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
³ Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO-CONICET-UNS), Florida 8000, B8000BFW, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
⁴ Centre for Applied Physics and Radiation Technologies, School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵ Group Research in Analytical Chemistry, Environment and Climate Change (GRACE & CC), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Imo State University Owerri, P. M. B 2000, Imo State, Nigeria.
⁶ Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁷ Center for Research in Waste Management, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁸ Department of Physics, College of Khurma, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, 21974, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK.
¹¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. h.mohafez@um.edu.my.
¹² Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Microplastics (MP) were recognized as an emergent pollution problem due to their ubiquitous nature and bioaccumulative potential. Those present in salt for consumption could represent a human exposure route through dietary uptake. The current study, conducted in Bangladesh, reports microplastics contamination in coarse salt prepared for human consumption. Sea salt samples were collected from eight representative salt pans located in the country's largest salt farming area, in the Maheshkhali Channel, along the Bay of Bengal. Microplastics were detected in all samples, with mean concentrations ranging from 78 ± 9.33 to 137 ± 21.70 particles kg^-1, mostly white and ranging in size from 500-1000 µm. The prevalent types were: fragments (48%) > films (22%) > fibers (15%) > granules and lines (both 9%). Fourier transform mid-IR and near-IR spectra (FT-MIR-NIR) analysis registered terephthalate (48%), polypropylene (20%), polyethylene (17%), and polystyrene (15%) in all samples. These results contribute to the MP's pollution knowledge in sea salts to understand and reduce this significant human exposure route and environmental pollution source in the future.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't