Microplastic Exposure through Mussels Consumption in the Coastal Area Community of Pa’lalakkang Village, Galesong, Takalar District

The habit of people disposing of solid waste, especially plastic type waste in the marine environment is the cause of the discovery of microplastic content in seawater. Microplastics with very small sizes can enter the body of marine life, such as mussels. This situation will form the food chain system. This study aims to analyze microplastic exposure through consumption of mussels in communities in the coastal area of Pa'lalakkang Village, Galesong, Takalar District. This research is a type of qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The human sample in this study amounted to 30 respondents, and the environmental sample was 20 mussels with tofu mussels. Data obtained by interview using questionnaires and food pictures, weight measurement, examination of mussels samples in the laboratory, identification of polymer types using FTIR spectroscopy, and documentation. The data obtained were then analyzed descriptively to describe the intake of mussels containing microplastics by the community. The results showed that the average concentration of microplastics found in mussels was 6.7 items/mussels, with Polystyrene polymer content. This proves that people have been directly exposed to microplastics through consumption of mussels. It is known that the average intake of mussels by the community is 91 g / day, with an average exposure frequency of 96 days/year.