Riverine Microplastic Pollution: Insights from Cagayan de Oro River, Philippines

Aiza D. Gabriel, Ruben F. Amparado, Arnold A. Lubguban and Hernando P. Bacosa ()
Additional contact information
Aiza D. Gabriel: Environmental Science Graduate Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Tibanga, Iligan City 9200, Philippines
Ruben F. Amparado: Environmental Science Graduate Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Tibanga, Iligan City 9200, Philippines
Arnold A. Lubguban: Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Tibanga, Iligan City 9200, Philippines
Hernando P. Bacosa: Environmental Science Graduate Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Tibanga, Iligan City 9200, Philippines

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Rivers are vital water sources for humans and homes for aquatic organisms. Conversely, they are well known as the route of plastics into the ocean. Despite being the world’s number one emitter of riverine plastics into the ocean, microplastics (MPs), or plastic particles less than 5 mm, in the Philippines’ rivers are relatively unexplored. Water samples were collected from six sampling stations along the river channel of the Cagayan de Oro River, one of the largest rivers in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. The extracted microplastics’ abundance, distribution, and characteristics were analyzed using a stereomicroscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed a mean concentration of 300 items/m 3 of MPs dominated by blue-colored (59%), fiber (63%), 0.3–0.5 mm (44%), and polyacetylene (48%) particles. The highest concentration of microplastics was recorded near the mouth of the river, and the lowest was in the middle area. The findings indicated a significant difference in MP concentration at the sampling stations. This study is the first assessment of microplastic in a river in Mindanao. The results of this study will aid in formulating mitigation strategies for reducing riverine plastic emissions.

Keywords: microplastic; river; surface water; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Philippines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/12/6132/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/12/6132/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:12:p:6132-:d:1171689

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().