Microplastic pollution in sediments from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, China

Jianmin Zhao; Wen Ran; Jia Teng; Yongliang Liu; Hui Liu; Xiaonan Yin; Ruiwen Cao; Qing Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.346

Microplastic pollution in sediments from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, China

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Nov 1:640-641:637-645. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.346. Epub 2018 Jun 2.

Authors

Jianmin Zhao¹, Wen Ran², Jia Teng², Yongliang Liu¹, Hui Liu¹, Xiaonan Yin³, Ruiwen Cao², Qing Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Muping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai 264003, PR China.
² Muping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai 264003, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
³ Yantai Oil Spill Response Technical Center of Yantai Maritime Safety Administration, Yantai 264000, PR China.
⁴ Muping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai 264003, PR China. Electronic address: qingwang@yic.ac.cn.

PMID: 29870939
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.346

Abstract

Microplastics are one of the most significant pollutants in the marine environment and accumulate in sediments all over the world. To assess the pollution level in the marine environment in China, the distribution and abundance of microplastics in sediments from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea were investigated in this study. The sediment samples were collected from 72 different sites in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. Microplastics were separated from sediment through density flotation and categorized according to shape and size under a microscope. Additionally, polymer types were identified using Fourier-Transform Infrared Micro-spectroscopy (μ-FT-IR). Our study demonstrated that microplastics were consistently found in all samples, which emphasized their extensive distribution throughout the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. The average microplastic abundance was 171.8, 123.6 and 72.0 items per kg of dry weight sediment for the Bohai Sea, Northern Yellow Sea and Southern Yellow Sea, respectively. Among the sampled microplastics, fiber (93.88%) and small microplastics (<1000 μm) (71.06%) were the most frequent types. Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (μ-FT-IR) analysis determined that the main types of microplastics were rayon (RY), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Our results highlighted the widespread distribution of microplastics in sediments from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea and provided useful information for evaluating the environmental risks of microplastics in China.

Keywords: Bohai Sea; Microplastic; Sediment; Yellow Sea.