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Microplastic and charred microplastic in the Faafu Atoll, Maldives
Summary
Microplastics including unusual charred or heat-fused particles were found at 12 sites in the Faafu Atoll of the Maldives, suggesting that open burning of plastic waste on islands is a source of a distinctive type of microplastic contamination. The findings highlight open burning as an underappreciated pathway that generates chemically altered microplastics with potentially different toxicological properties.
Microplastics are recognized as a growing threat for the marine environment that may even affect areas generally considered pristine. In this work we surveyed the microplastic contamination in the Faafu Atoll (Maldives, Indian Ocean) across twelve sampling station, located either inside or outside the reef rim. Sediments and seawater samples were collected. Despite the remoteness of the atoll, the scarce local population and low touristic annual afflux, the detected average abundance were 0.32 ± 0.15 particles/m in the surface water and 22.8 ± 10.5 particles/m in the beach sediments. Polymers identified through Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy were mostly polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, polyethyleneterephtalate, and polyamide. Elastomeric residues and charred microparticles were also found. In particular, the charred microparticles were prevalently located nearby the inhabited island and they might be considered a peculiarity of the area, related to local practice of burning plastic waste at the shoreline.