Microplastics in Marine Nearshore Surface Waters of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, East Africa.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol
; 109(6): 1037-1042, 2022 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36121466
ABSTRACT
Limited information exists on the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in East African coastal waters. A 300 µm manta net was used to collect surface water from 8 sites in the regions Dar es Salaam (DES) and Zanzibar (ZZ) during low and high tides. DES had a higher (p < 0.05) abundance of MPs than ZZ. Fragments and fibers were the dominant MP types at all sites. The number of fibers was significantly higher (p = 0.002) in DES than in ZZ. MPs were more prevalent during high tide in both DES and ZZ. The MPs within the 2-5 mm size range were identified most often. White and blue MPs were the most common in study sites comprising 45% and 18% of the total MPs respectively. Three polymers polypropylene (PP) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) were identified. The occurrence of MPs in nearshore waters of DES and ZZ is probably due to their proximity to industrial areas, poor solid waste management, and high population pressure.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Health context:
2_ODS3
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Water Pollutants, Chemical
/
Microplastics
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article