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Occurrence and distribution of microplastics on recreational beaches of Haichow Bay, China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 28, pages 6132–6145 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

As prime coastal recreational areas, beaches attract an increasing number of users worldwide. However, current studies have shown that beaches are subject to plastic pollution, one of the most significant global environmental threats. Considering the health of tourists and ecological environmental management of beaches, microplastics on recreational beaches are urgently being studied. This paper first focused on microplastics on the recreational beaches of Haichow Bay, which is located on the central coast of China and faces the Yellow Sea. The microplastic pollution level, occurrence, and distribution were investigated. Our study demonstrated that microplastics were consistently found on all studied beaches, which emphasized their extensive distribution throughout recreational beaches. The average microplastic abundance was 106.50 ± 34.41 items/kg, demonstrating that the microplastic pollution level on the studied beaches tended to be in the middle-to-low position compared with previous studies. In total, eight colors were found, more than 90% of microplastics were less than 1 mm in size, and fiber and fragments were the dominant shapes. Resort beaches contained the highest number of microplastics, indicating that the microplastic pollution level on recreational beaches was directly related to the tourism intensity. Five types of plastic were found in the samples, i.e., polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), PS (polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon. Land inputs were the main source of pollution. This study provided baseline information on microplastic pollution that can be used for effective and comprehensive management of recreational beaches and suggests that the management of plastic use and recycling on beaches should be integrated into China's’coastal zone management practices.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China [41471431] and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [BK20130056].

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Affiliations

  1. School of History, Culture and Tourism, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai’an, 223300, China

    Xiaowei Wu, Qunji Li & Han Chen

  2. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Xiaowei Wu, Chongqing Zhong & Xinqing Zou

  3. School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai’an, 223300, China

    Chongqing Zhong & Zheng Zang

  4. College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Teng Wang

Authors
  1. Xiaowei Wu
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  2. Chongqing Zhong
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  3. Teng Wang
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  4. Xinqing Zou
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  5. Zheng Zang
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  6. Qunji Li
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  7. Han Chen
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Contributions

Xiaowei Wu, Chongqing Zhong, and Xinqing Zou contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Xiaowei Wu, Chongqing Zhong, and Teng Wang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xiaowei Wu. Professor Zou supervised the research and provided the funding support. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xinqing Zou.

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Wu, X., Zhong, C., Wang, T. et al. Occurrence and distribution of microplastics on recreational beaches of Haichow Bay, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 6132–6145 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10987-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10987-7

Keywords

  • Microplastic pollution
  • Recreational beach
  • Occurrence and distribution
  • Beach management
  • Haichow Bay
  • China