Pollution characteristics and ecological risk of microplastic in sediments of Liaodong Bay from the northern Bohai Sea in China

Yuheng Ye; Anguo Zhang; Jia Teng; Xiaolong Yang; Xiutang Yuan; Qing Wang; Jianmin Zhao; Bin Zhang; Tianzhe Zhang; Xuejiao Chen; Tongwei Guan; Xindong Ma

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114505

Pollution characteristics and ecological risk of microplastic in sediments of Liaodong Bay from the northern Bohai Sea in China

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Feb:187:114505. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114505. Epub 2022 Dec 23.

Authors

Yuheng Ye¹, Anguo Zhang², Jia Teng³, Xiaolong Yang², Xiutang Yuan⁴, Qing Wang⁵, Jianmin Zhao³, Bin Zhang⁶, Tianzhe Zhang⁷, Xuejiao Chen⁸, Tongwei Guan⁸, Xindong Ma²

Affiliations

¹ School of Architecture and Civil Engineering of Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, PR China.
² National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Dalian 116023, PR China.
³ Research and Development Center for Efficient Utilization of Coastal Bioresources, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, PR China.
⁴ National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Dalian 116023, PR China; Research and Development Center for Efficient Utilization of Coastal Bioresources, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, PR China.
⁵ Research and Development Center for Efficient Utilization of Coastal Bioresources, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, PR China. Electronic address: qingwang@yic.ac.cn.
⁶ School of Architecture and Civil Engineering of Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, PR China; School of food and biotechnology of Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, PR China. Electronic address: 38096922@qq.com.
⁷ School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, PR China.
⁸ School of food and biotechnology of Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, PR China.

PMID: 36566512
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114505

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are widely distributed in marine environments. The pollution characteristics and risk assessment of MPs in estuarine sediments are still insufficient. In this study, the MPs pollution characteristics in surface sediments of the Liao Estuary and Daliao Estuary were investigated. The characteristics of MPs in sediments were determined by stereo microscopy and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the average MPs abundance ranged from 32.33 to 49.91 items·kg^-1 d.w. The MPs were mainly composed of 500-2000 μm black and blue fibers. Five polymer types were identified, including rayon (RA) (87.46 %), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (6.81 %), polyamide (PA) (2.94 %), polypropylene (PP) (2.17 %) and polyethylene (PE) (0.62 %). The pollution load index (PLI) risk assessment showed that all sampling sites were at Hazard Level I. Our results can provide useful information for assessing the environmental risks of MPs in coastal areas of China.

Keywords: Estuary; Microplastics; Risk assessment; Sediments; Spatiotemporal distribution.

MeSH terms

Bays / chemistry
China
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Microplastics*
Plastics / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical