The importance of microplastics pollution studies in water and soil of Nigeria ecosystems

Abstract

The microplastics in the environment is a novel problem to scientists, public media, governmental and non-governmental organizations. The major problem is from the difficultness of removing them from the ecosystem. Elsewhere studies are being conducted while in Nigeria studies are relatively lacking. Production (10.3 %) and consumption (6.5 %) of plastics are on the increase annually, thereby, causing an increase in the amount of plastic waste generated annually. Finally, from such studies, data generated will provide insight and understanding into the extent of microplastic pollution in Nigeria. Furthermore, the data will be important not only for both remediation and minimization of effects but could be employed in averting occurrence through policies such as ban on some types of plastic uses in Nigeria. In this study, four manually generally microplastic types (PVC, acrylics, polyesters, silicones) were evaluated for heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, and As) adsorption at optimized pH by ETAAS.