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The characteristics of microplastics and the associated metals on the surfaces of microplastics in green mussels (Perna viridis) collected from different water depths in the Bekasi Estuary, West Java, Indonesia
Summary
Researchers evaluated microplastics and associated metals in green mussels collected from different water depths in the Bekasi Estuary, Indonesia. They found that fragment-type microplastics smaller than 100 micrometers were most common, with eight different polymer types detected including PVC, polycarbonate, and polystyrene. Multiple metals including aluminum, chromium, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead were found adhered to the microplastic surfaces, raising concerns about combined contamination in this estuarine ecosystem.
This study intended to evaluate the physicochemical properties of microplastics (MPs) and the metals adhered to their surfaces in green mussels, Perna viridis , living at the surface and at a depth of 6 meters in the Bekasi estuary, West Java, Indonesia. The study's findings revealed that MPs in green mussel and seawater, both at the surface and at a depth of 6 m, had the following characteristics: fragment type, black color, and a size of less than 100 µm. The abundance of MPs in surface seawater (22.7 particles/l) was higher than at 6 m depth (15.5 particles/l). There were no statistically significant differences in MP abundance in green mussels' soft tissue at the surface (13.4 particles/individual) and at 6 m depth (13.6 particles/individual). The statistical analysis confirmed the absence of a significant correlation between the abundances of MPs and the length and weight of the green mussel shell. Eight MPs polymers were detected in the seawater and tissues of green mussels obtained from the Bekasi estuary, West Java: polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polystyrene, cellulose acetate, polymethyl methacrylate; acrylic, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, ethene-vinylacetate, and nylon or polyamide. The chemical examination of green mussel tissue samples identifies four separate groups of additives: plasticizers, processing aids, antioxidants, and UV stabilizers. Aluminum, chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, tin, mercury, lead, oxygen, chlorine, silicon, and potassium were among the metals and elements identified on surface of MP particles in green mussels.