Monitoring of micro-plastics: a case study of shilaoren beach, Qingdao, China

Abstract

Healthy beaches in our ecosystem provide numerous services, including recreational entertainment, cultural heritage, and nutrient cycling. Microplastics (MPs) contaminations (in and around the beaches) have been well documented in many beaches around the world. Hence, the present study was designed to determine the occurrences, chemical composition, and accumulation of MPs along the Shilaoren beach of Qingdao, China. The extraction of MPs particles was done using the density separation method. The present study has confirmed the MPs existence in the beach sediments. A total of 561 MPs particles found in all collected sand samples. The average number of MPs particles was about 56 particles in 1 kg of dry sand (d.w). The MPs particle had a size less than <0.5 mm comprised of 351 MPs particles followed by 250 MPs particles with 0.5 mm size. The FTIR spectroscopy analysis technique confirmed the chemical composition of MPs including polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Besides, the microscopy study revealed that MPs particles were needle-like shape morphology/structure, and fewer were fragmented. The source of MPs found as a result of industrialization, urbanization, sewage effluent/ wastewater, tourism, and development. The present study is the baseline for future research.