Microplastics in the Surface Sediment of the main Red River Estuary

Abstract

Microplastics (< 5mm) are one emerging pollutant in the environment. These are the threats and challenges facing the global environment, economy, and society, especially in hotspot regions such as Asia. This paper presents the microplastic characteristics found in the surface sediment of the main Red River estuary (the Ba Lat) during four separate monitoring runs in 2020. The microplastic amount in the sediment samples varied from 800 items per kg of dried weight (dw) to 3,817 items.kg-1 dw, averaging 2,188 ± 1,499 items.kg-1 dw. Fiber and fragment microplastics were discovered to be primary shapes, of which fibers dominated (94%). Microplastic fiber sizes were found mainly in the < 500 µm (69%) range. The most primarily observed colors of microplastics were blue (36%), white (21%), and red (11%). There were five recognized polymer types (polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PU), polyamide (PA), and polystyrene (PS)) in the sediment samples, with PE and PP predominating. Seasonal fluctuations in microplastic concentrations at the Ba Lat site, a significant aquaculture zone, may indicate the contribution of multiple sources. Our research demonstrated the necessity of microplastic observation in organisms, particularly in the aquaculture zones in Vietnam. Our findings further underline the importance of managing and minimizing the amount of plastic garbage that enters the ecosystem.

Anthropogenic particle abundance and characteristics in seawater and intertidal sediments of the Tonkin Bay Coast (North Vietnam)

“…8,600 and 1,085 m 3 /s, respectively (Dang et al, 2010). At Ba Lat estuary, the ow is 3 times higher in the rainy season compared to the dry one (841 and 247 m 3 /s, respectively, Le et al, 2023). The decrease of salinity measured at ND and TB during the sampling campaign (Table 1) also depicted the dilution of seawater by freshwater inputs.…”

Microplastics in sediments from urban and suburban rivers: Influence of sediment properties

“…Where: C i : the concentration of MP (item per kg dry weigh) at the site i; Co: the minimum MP concentration. Instead of considering the minimum concentration observed during our study, as all sites are in urban zone and potentially contaminated, we used as Co the MP concentration determined at Ba Lat, Red river (rural area) (Co=133 items kg -1 dry weigh; Le et al, 2023a) as the reference background value. Ei and RI are the potential ecological risk factor and the potential ecological risk, respectively; Ti: chemical toxicity of a specific polymer (Lithner et al, 2011).…”