Preliminary characterization and probabilistic risk assessment of microplastics and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in garri (cassava flake), a common staple food consumed in West Africa

Abstract

Garri from cassava is one of the most consumed foods in West Africa, hence this research was conducted to examine microplastics (MPs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in garri from Nigeria (West Africa) and Japan. This is the first investigation on MPs in garri samples that has been reported in the literature. The study analyzed both packaged and unpackaged vended garri samples using microscopic/spectroscopic and X-ray fluorescence techniques for MPs and PTEs respectively. Microplastic particles in the garri samples ranged from (or were between) 2.00±2.00 – 175.00±25.16 particles/50 with > 90 % as fragments and consisted of polyacrylamide, polyethylene terepthalate, polyvinyl alcohol, high density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride acrylonitrile, polyethylene chlorinated, polypropylene with silicate mix, polychloroprene and polyethylene chlorosulphonated. The mean concentration of PTEs raged from ND to 0.07 mg/g for Cr and Mn, 0.73 to 5.63 mg/g for Fe, ND to 0.57mg/g for Co, 0.23 to 1.21 mg/g for Ni, 0.15 to 1.53 mg/g for Cu, and 0.12 to 0.63 mg/g for Zn. However, their daily intake was low for both adult and children as with the MPs. The sources of MPs and PTEs were mainly from the garri production processes, atmospheric dusts and during packaging. The non-carcinogenic risk for all samples was low for MPs while in openly vended garri, Ni and Cr in all sample poses carcinogenic risks. There is a need to improve indigenous garri processing techniques to minimize contamination. This research emphasizes the critical necessity to understand the consequences of MPs on human health.

Distribution, Potential Sources, and Health Risk of Microplastics (MPs) in Street Dust during and after COVID-19 Lockdown in Bangladesh

“…The results in this study are similar to that in research conducted in Bushehr city, Iran, where fibers were abundant, constituting 75% of the MPs in street dust samples [50]. Other types of MPs were coming to the street dust from the discharge of plastic items [29].…”

“…Concerning the line, the picture displayed a form that resembled a strand or a lengthy and narrow impression or stroke, which is greater in length than in width. On the other hand, the film appeared like a slim sheet [29]. Multiple studies have reported the presence of these shapes in street dust in many world cities [41][42][43].…”

“…These controls and the samples were examined. All detected and counted particles were divided into other particles and microplastics, and those that were thought to be polymers were examined using an ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflectance with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) system (JASCO FTIR-6100) for functional groups to categorize the MPs as polymers [29]. To avoid airborne contamination, particle extraction and all testing were conducted in a laminar flow chamber.…”

“…According to the preceding description, the MP polymeric risk indices for street dust samples were determined [12,29,30]. The equations for computing the polymer risks indices (pRi) for the samples and the index (pRarea) for the study area are provided by Formulae ( 1) and ( 2).…”

“…To determine the source(s) of microplastics (MPs) found in the dust samples, principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out. PCA is a technique that reduces the dimensions of a data set by using a small number of independent variables, referred to as "principal components", which explain most of the variance in the data [29]. Using an orthogonal transformation approach, the first principal component, which captures the most variation in the original data, is obtained.…”