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Microplastics in surface water from a mighty subtropical estuary: First observations on occurrence, characterization, and contamination assessment

Environmental Research 2023 47 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
M. Belal Hossain, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, Partho Banik, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, Qi Yu, Qi Yu, Qi Yu, Qi Yu, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Yeasmin Nahar Jolly, Partho Banik, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, M. Belal Hossain, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Takaomi Arai Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Takaomi Arai Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Takaomi Arai Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Qi Yu, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Yeasmin Nahar Jolly, Yeasmin Nahar Jolly, Yeasmin Nahar Jolly, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Partho Banik, Takaomi Arai As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Md Al- Mamun, Qi Yu, Takaomi Arai Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Md Al- Mamun, Qi Yu, Takaomi Arai As-Ad Ujjaman Nur, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Qi Yu, Qi Yu, M. Belal Hossain, Qi Yu, Takaomi Arai Partho Banik, Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Qi Yu, Partho Banik, Yeasmin Nahar Jolly, Md Al- Mamun, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Qi Yu, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, M. Belal Hossain, Md Al- Mamun, Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, M. Belal Hossain, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Md Al- Mamun, Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai M. Belal Hossain, Qi Yu, M. Belal Hossain, Takaomi Arai Takaomi Arai

Summary

Researchers documented the first observations of microplastic contamination in surface waters of the Meghna estuary in Bangladesh, finding widespread pollution that poses risks to this ecologically and economically critical subtropical ecosystem.

Estuarine contamination by Microplastics (MPs) is a mater of serious concern since these areas offer the society valuable ecosystem, economic, and recreational services such as breeding and feeding ground for fish, carbon fixation, nutrients recycling and port development. The Meghna estuary, located along the Bengal delta coast, provides livelihoods for thousands of peoples in Bangladesh, and served as breeding ground for national fish, Hilsha shad. Therefore, knowledge and understanding on any kind of pollution including MPs of this estuary is essential. In this study, the abundance, characteristics and contamination assessment of MPs from the surface water of a Meghna estuary were investigated for the first time. The results demonstrated that MPs were present in all samples and the abundance ranged from 33.33 to 316.67 item/m<sup>3</sup> with a mean value of 128.89 ± 67.94 item/m<sup>3</sup>. Morphological analyses resulted in four types of MPs such as fibers (87%), fragments (6%), foam (4%), and films (3%) with the majority of these being colored (62%) and smaller (<0.5 mm) in size (88%). On the other hand, FTIR analysis for chemical characteristics confirmed five types of polymers, including polythene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polythene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The area was determined to be moderately to severely contaminated with MPs based on contamination factor (CF) values (6.18 ± 2.08 to 2.50 ± 1.0) and the pollutant load index (PLI) value (1.94 ± 0.33) as these values were > 3-6 for CF, and >1 for PLI. These results can be utilized to develop policy for the protection of this important environment.

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