Microplastic pollution in the sediments of Sidi Mansour Harbor in Southeast Tunisia.
Mar Pollut Bull
; 146: 92-99, 2019 Sep.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31426237
ABSTRACT
Despite the increasing interest in microplastic (MP) research, the accurate prevalence, distribution and fate of these materials in the environment is yet poorly known and, consequently, a focus of debate. Hence, to better ascertain the presence of microplastics in specific environments, samples from 35 random sites distributed across a 4200-meter long section from the area of Sidi Mansour, Sfax-Tunisia, were collected and analyzed. MPs were extracted, digested with potassium hydroxide and dyed with Eosin B, for visual microscopy counting and sorting. Polymer composition and surface morphology were identified by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and SEM microscopy. Total abundances ranged from 252 to-5332 particles per m2 where fragments and granules were the most frequent types of microplastics. These findings highlight the considerable presence of these materials in the studied harbor region and underscore the density dependence on the distribution and occurrence of MPs and how these tend to accumulate in the sandy sediments.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Plásticos
/
Contaminantes Químicos del Agua
/
Sedimentos Geológicos
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mar Pollut Bull
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article