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Microplastic Pollution in Nearshore Sediment from the Bohai Sea Coastline

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology volume 107, pages 665–670 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Microplastics are recognized as an emerging global issue in marine environments. In this study, microplastic pollution in subtidal sediments from nine typical stations in the Bohai Sea was investigated. The mean concentration was 458.6 ± 150.0 items/kg of dry weight, varying from 280.0 to 773.4 items/kg. All of the microplastics were categorized according to shape, color and size. Among these microplastics, fiber (77.1%), white/blue/black (85.0%) and small microplastics (< 1500 μm) (82.9%) were the most abundant types. Seven polymer types were identified and were, in decreasing order of abundance, rayon > PE > PS > PP > PET > ABS > PA. The microplastics abundance was of the same order of magnitude as that of other similar areas. The microplastic characteristics suggest that tourism, maritime activities and sewage discharge are possible sources. Our results provide useful information for performing an environmental risk assessment of microplastic pollution in this area.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA23050303), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41576122), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS (2016196).

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Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Center for Efficient Utilization of Coastal Bioresources, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaopeng Zhu, Wen Ran, Jia Teng, Jianmin Zhao & Qing Wang

  2. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaopeng Zhu, Wen Ran, Jia Teng, Chen Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Chaowei Hou, Jianmin Zhao & Qing Wang

  3. Muping Coastal Environment Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaopeng Zhu, Jia Teng, Chen Zhang, Wenjing Zhang, Chaowei Hou, Jianmin Zhao & Qing Wang

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaopeng Zhu & Jia Teng

  5. Ocean School, Yantai University, Yantai, People’s Republic of China

    Xutong Qi

Authors
  1. Xiaopeng Zhu
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  2. Wen Ran
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  3. Jia Teng
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  4. Chen Zhang
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  5. Wenjing Zhang
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  6. Chaowei Hou
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  7. Jianmin Zhao
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  9. Qing Wang
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Correspondence to Qing Wang.

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Zhu, X., Ran, W., Teng, J. et al. Microplastic Pollution in Nearshore Sediment from the Bohai Sea Coastline. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 107, 665–670 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02866-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02866-1

Keywords

  • Microplastic
  • Coast
  • Nearshore sediment
  • Bohai sea