Hong Kong at the Pearl River Estuary: A hotspot of microplastic pollution

Fok, Lincoln; Cheung, Pui Kwan

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.07.050

Cited by 320 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“… b Ranges of microplastic pollution on coastlines (g/m 2 ) sourced from Hawaii (Carson et al ), Hong Kong (Fok and Cheung ), North Pacific gyre and S Atlantic gyre (van Sebille et al ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ranges of microplastic pollution on coastlines (g/m 2 ) were sourced from Carson et al () for Hawaii and from Fok and Cheung () for Hong Kong. For the gyres, the 95% confidence minimum and maximum masses of microplastics in the area were estimated using the model developed by van Sebille et al ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019:596-606 © 2019 SETAC wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ieam South Atlantic gyre 0.2-1.4 1 × 10 -7 to 1.5 × 10 -6 a Ranges of PCB concentrations in microplastics (ng/g) sourced from Hawaii and Hong Kong (IPW 2017), North Pacific gyre (Hirai et al 2011), South Atlantic gyre (Rochman et al 2014). b Ranges of microplastic pollution on coastlines (g/m 2 ) sourced from Hawaii (Carson et al 2011), Hong Kong (Fok andCheung 2015), North Pacific gyre and S Atlantic gyre (van Sebille et al 2015).…”

Section: Estimates Of Pcb Removal With Microplastics Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Estimating the Mass of Chemicals Associated with Ocean Plastic Pollution to Inform Mitigation Efforts

Frond

Sebille

Parnis

et al. 2019

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Plastic pollution in the marine environment is well documented. What remains less recognized and understood are the chemicals associated with it. Plastics enter the ocean with unreacted monomers, oligomers, and additives, which can leach over time. Moreover, plastics sorb organic and inorganic chemicals from surrounding seawater, for example, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals. Thus, interception and cleanup of plastics reduces the amount of chemical contaminants entering or reentering the oceans and removes those already present. Here, we estimate 1) the mass of selected chemical additives entering the global oceans with common plastic debris items, and 2) the mass of sorbed chemicals (using PCBs as a case study) associated with microplastics in selected locations. We estimate the mass of additives that entered the oceans in 2015 as constituents of 7 common plastic debris items (bottles, bottle caps, expanded polystyrene (EPS) containers, cutlery, grocery bags, food wrappers, and straws or stirrers). We calculate that approximately 190 tonnes (t) of 20 chemical additives entered the oceans with these items in 2015. We also estimate the mass of PCBs associated with microplastics in 2 coastal (Hong Kong and Hawaii) and 2 open ocean (North Pacific and South Atlantic gyres) locations, as comparative case studies. We find that the mass of chemicals is related to the mass of plastics in a location, with greater mass of PCBs closer to the source (i.e., land), where there is more plastic per unit area compared to the open ocean. We estimate approximately 85 000 times more PCBs associated with plastics in an average 4.5‐km stretch of beach in Hong Kong than from the same size transect in the North Pacific gyre. In conclusion, continuing efforts for plastic interception and cleanup on shorelines effectively reduces the amount of plastic‐related chemicals entering and/or reentering the marine environment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:596–606. © 2019 SETAC

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“… b Ranges of microplastic pollution on coastlines (g/m 2 ) sourced from Hawaii (Carson et al ), Hong Kong (Fok and Cheung ), North Pacific gyre and S Atlantic gyre (van Sebille et al ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Estimates Of Pcb Removal With Microplastics Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Estimating the Mass of Chemicals Associated with Ocean Plastic Pollution to Inform Mitigation Efforts

Frond

Sebille

Parnis

et al. 2019

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In South America, monitoring from scientists and volunteers at the Elqui, Maipo, Biobio and Maule Rivers, demonstrated a consistent pattern between numerical concentration of micro-plastics (range 0.05–0.74 particles per cubic metre) and the presence of litter deposition on riversides15. In Asia, sampling of micro-plastics on beaches suggested that the nearby Pearl River is a major source of plastic pollution for the region16. Surface samplings at the Chinese Yangtze River mouth showed considerably higher plastic concentrations than any other sampled river worldwide17 with a reported 4,137 particles per cubic metre.…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans

et al. 2017

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Plastics in the marine environment have become a major concern because of their persistence at sea, and adverse consequences to marine life and potentially human health. Implementing mitigation strategies requires an understanding and quantification of marine plastic sources, taking spatial and temporal variability into account. Here we present a global model of plastic inputs from rivers into oceans based on waste management, population density and hydrological information. Our model is calibrated against measurements available in the literature. We estimate that between 1.15 and 2.41 million tonnes of plastic waste currently enters the ocean every year from rivers, with over 74% of emissions occurring between May and October. The top 20 polluting rivers, mostly located in Asia, account for 67% of the global total. The findings of this study provide baseline data for ocean plastic mass balance exercises, and assist in prioritizing future plastic debris monitoring and mitigation strategies.

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“…The nearshore plastic concentrations have a strong correlation with the coastal population (Zhao et al 2015;Pedrotti et al 2016;Lots et al 2017). The highest abundance of microplastic debris has been observed through numerous field surveys in rivers, harbor areas, tourist beaches, as well as nearby industrial areas (e.g., Fok and Cheung 2015;Zhao et al 2015;Yu et al 2016Yu et al , 2018Auta et al 2017;Vaughan et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of possible pathways of marine microplastics transport in the ocean

Zhang

Tang

2020

Anthropocene Coasts

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Marine microplastics pollution has been a new challenge to marine environmental protection. The research results have shown that microplastics exist everywhere in the ocean. However, understanding of the transport of microplastics in the ocean, including coastal zones, is not clear. This paper provides a holistic overview of the modelling of microplastic transportation. The transport processes are complex, including surface drifting, vertical mixing, beaching, and settling. Besides the dynamic conditions of oceans, the transportation of microplastics is influenced by their physical characteristics, such as size, shape, and density. For buoyant particles, a Lagrange track model is used to simulate the surface drift process, considering current, windage effect, and Stokes drift. It is difficult to observe the vertical mixing process of microplastics because of their small size (<5 mm), therefore the parameters of the vertical mixing process in the model are still less known. Large accumulation of microplastics in sediments may be a result of settlement and entrainment. Also, biofilm formation can increase their density and thus, deposition. Considering sedimentation of microplastics is somewhat different from sediment deposition, some primary parameters (e.g., diffusivity, Stokes-drift, settling rate, biofouling rate) are required in future studies to better understand the transport of marine microplastics.

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Hong Kong at the Pearl River Estuary: A hotspot of microplastic pollution

Cited by 320 publications

References 30 publications

Estimating the Mass of Chemicals Associated with Ocean Plastic Pollution to Inform Mitigation Efforts

Estimating the Mass of Chemicals Associated with Ocean Plastic Pollution to Inform Mitigation Efforts

River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans

A review of possible pathways of marine microplastics transport in the ocean

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