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Microplastic Contamination in Surface Water of the Lower Forcados River, Burutu, Delta State, Nigeria
Summary
Over a 12-month sampling period, researchers found microplastic concentrations averaging 44 items per liter in the lower Forcados River in Nigeria, with fibers and filaments as the dominant types. The study documents microplastic pollution in a West African river system where data is scarce, highlighting that this is a global problem not limited to wealthier, more studied regions.
Background and Objective: The world’s rivers, estuaries, and coastlines are all contaminated with microplastics, which are also frequently seen in beaches, seafloor sediments, shorelines, and industrial wastewater, among other places. This study was carried out to determine microplastic contamination in the water of the lower Forcados River, Burutu, Delta State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Water samples were collected from four locations for 12 months between March, 2022 and March, 2023, along the lower Forcados River, Burutu, Delta State, Nigeria. The extracted microparticles were virtually identified using an EDMS11 digital microscope and were classified and categorized according to their types. A one-way ANOVA (p<0.05) was performed to compare microplastic pollution across four water samples using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Results: The abundance and composition of contamination in the surface water were a 44 item/L and microfiber 14 (31.81%), microfragments 6 (13.63%), microfilms 7 (15.90%), microfilaments 12 (27.27%) and microfoams 5 (11.36%) which also account for densities ranging from microfilms (ρ = 0.00001) to microfragments (ρ = 6.6). Microplastic contamination ranges from microfoam 0.1±0.04 item/L to 0.29±0.06 item/L (microfibers). However, filaments showed a similar blueprint to the microfilms in the study. Conclusion: This study helped to clarify how microplastics appeared and were distributed in the lower Forcados River, and it is now possible to assist the general public by offering guidance on how to reduce microplastic contamination in aquatic water bodies.