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Quantification of Microplastic Fibers Extracted from South Beach Sediments Located on the South-West Coast of Western Australia
Summary
A case study of South Beach in Western Australia quantified microplastic fiber contamination in coastal sediments, finding fibers as the dominant particle type. The study contributes to documenting microplastic pollution along Australia's coastline and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems and recreational beach users.
The ever-increasing use of plastic materials has also led to high levels of waste entering the environment and becoming a serious pollutant. To determine and expand knowledge of microplastic pollution in the marine environment, the present case study examines South Beach sediments. South Beach is adjacent to Cockburn Sound (Western Australia) and is made up of four smaller beaches. Each of these small beaches are each separated by a groyne. The study considered the abundance and spatial distribution of microplastic fibers in the beach sediments. The analysis technique used density separation, via a new elutriation system using hyper-saline solutions, to separate microplastic fibers from sandy beach sediments. Recuperation rates of around 95% were achieved for plastic densities ranging from 0.9 to 1.3 kg m-3. Recuperation rates for plastic densities greater than 1.4 were around 84%. The overall mean microplastic fiber density for South Beach was found to be 43.3 fibers kg-1. The fibers ranged in size from 800 to 1,824 microns, and the mean size was estimated to be 1168 ± 274 microns. The novel elutriation system developed for this study was found to be ideal for routine monitoring programs.