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Abundance, Types, and Polymer Composition of Microplastics Present in a Coastal Region of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
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This study provided the first quantification and polymer characterization of microplastics in seawater and beach sediments at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh—the world's longest sea beach—across three sampling locations. Microplastic abundance was moderate at 369 items/kg in sediment and 210 items/m³ in seawater, with polyethylene (41%) and PVC (29%) the dominant polymers and colorful particles comprising 57% of the total. The findings establish a baseline contamination dataset for this high-traffic coastal site and raise concerns about regional marine pollution inputs to the Bay of Bengal.
BACKGROUND AND AIM In Bangladesh, microplastics (MPs) in different forms (e.g., microbeads) are being released continually into the encompassing water bodies and wastelands in and around Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. These microplastics eventually find their way to the Bay of Bengal and affect the marine lives there. To date, data pertaining to microplastic pollution in the terrestrial and aquatic systems is still limited in Bangladesh. Therefore, the study was undertaken to determine microplastic abundance, types, and polymer composition in seawater and beach sediment. METHODS Eighteen surficial sediment samples and twelve seawater samples were collected from three beach points (Laboni, Sugandha, and Kolatoli) of the world’s longest sea beach, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The samples were processed and then examined under a stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope. The microplastic was further analyzed for the identification of polymers using the attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). RESULTS This study provided the first quantification and characterization of MPs in the sediments and water of the world’s longest sea beach. The study revealed a moderate abundance (368.68 ± 10.65 items/kg) and (210.12 ± 6.23 items/m3) of MPs in beach sediment and seawater, respectively. The identified MPs were mostly colorful (57%), and polyethylene (PE) (41%) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (29%) polymers were found to dominate the collected samples. The observed MPs were classified into three size ranges. The majority of the MPs (59%) measured were 1–5 mm in size, followed by 0.5–1 mm (27%) and <0.5 mm (14%). CONCLUSIONS This study gives insights into beach MPs pollution on the Bangladesh coast. This data can be used as baseline data for the management of this beach. Further research on the more precise identification of smaller microplastics present in marine biota using the Micro-FTIR Spectroscopy is warranted. KEYWORDS Microplastics, Marine Pollution, ATR-FTIR, Polyethylene, Polyvinyl chloride
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