Microplastics in Surface Waters and Sediments from Guangdong Coastal Areas, South China

Yizheng Li, Yindan Zhang, Guanglong Chen, Kaihang Xu, Han Gong, Kai Huang, Muting Yan and Jun Wang
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Yizheng Li: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Yindan Zhang: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Guanglong Chen: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Kaihang Xu: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Han Gong: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Kai Huang: National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Bio-Refinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, 98 Daling Road, Nanning 530007, China
Muting Yan: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China
Jun Wang: Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural Universtiy, Guangzhou 510641, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Microplastic is an emerging global pollutant that have attracted a great deal of attention from researchers and the public. Guangdong Province has a large population and a relatively well-developed economy, but lacks a modern pollution control system. Guangdong has a long coastline with varying levels of pollution, and little research has been conducted on microplastics. Therefore, we investigated the level of microplastic pollution in coastal areas of Guangdong Province, and the abundance of microplastics in surface waters and sediments at 13 sampling sites. The abundance of microplastics in surface water and sediment samples ranged from 850 to 3500 items/L and 433.3 to 4166.3 items/kg, respectively. Fiber is the main type of microplastics in both surface water and sediment. The sampled microplastics were typically transparent. Raman results show that the surface water sample mainly includes rayon (38.2%), polyethylene terephthalate (16.4%), and ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer (12.7%). This study used the pollution load index method to evaluate the pollution risk of microplastics along the coast of Guangdong, and provided the basis for the formulation of environmental policy.

Keywords: Guangdong coastal area; microplastics; water; sediment; anthropogenic activities; risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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