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Detection of Microplastic in Sun-Dried Salt using Spectroscopic Technique
Summary
Researchers used spectroscopic techniques to detect microplastics in sun-dried sea salt from South Korea. Microplastics were found in the salt samples, confirming that sea salt produced from ocean water is a pathway through which humans can ingest plastic particles through everyday food consumption.
Plastics have recently been recognized as a major contributor to marine pollution. Plastic waste coming in through various routes is broken down finely into sunlight, leading to uptake by marine organisms. Microplastics are very small plastic particles of less than 5 mm in size. Microplastics are not degraded by microorganisms, and may cause side effects such as reproductive complications, disruption of enzymatic activity, and slow growth rate of marine organisms. In particular, the microplastics contained in the sun-dried salt obtained through seawater threaten human health. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to detect microplastics in sun-dried salts using spectroscopic techniques. A total of 8 kinds of fine plastics were used, and the particle size was used for the experiment with the particle size of 1 mm or less. Spectra from samples were analyzed using near infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. 8 samples were able to identify intrinsic spectra of near-infrared and Raman spectra, and it was determined that near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy techniques could be possible up to 1% by limit of quantitative analysis.