Assessing Microplastic Prevalence and Dispersion from Saigon Urban Canals via Can Gio Mangrove Reserve to East Sea by Raman Scattering Microscopy

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Plastic pollution is one of the significant environmental concerns due to the threefold increase in global plastic waste. Marine microplastics, including petroleum-based plastic pieces and synthetic and artificial fibers smaller than 5 mm, are not only ubiquitous in natural water but also high in wastewater streams due to the direct discharge, transfer and breakdown of plastic items. This research aims to investigate the presence and dispersion of microplastics in the downtown area and coastal suburban area of Ho-Chi-Minh City by using Raman microscopy. As a result, the most common plastics (PE, PET, PA, PP, PVC, PS and PMMA) were detected, and most of them were fibrous shorter than 500 μm. The total microplastics decreased gradually from the urban waterborne (up to 220 MPs/L) via Can Gio UNESCO Mangrove Biosphere Reserve (10 MPs/L) and to the East Sea (3 MPs/L), which reveals the potential role of the mangrove in reducing marine contaminants including microplastics. This study provides important insights into microplastic pollution in the Western Pacific Region, especially the Saigon-Dong Nai river systems, supporting useful data for natural water resources management.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)536-553
Number of pages18
JournalMicroplastics
Volume1
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Mendeley 53544a68-c2a8-3fd5-813d-aad3010aa24a
ORCID /0000-0002-4827-8146/work/142240790
ORCID /0000-0001-5081-2558/work/142255750

Keywords