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Microplastics pollution in salt pans from the Maheshkhali Channel, Bangladesh

Rakib MRJ 1 , Al Nahian S 2 , Alfonso MB 3 , Khandaker MU 4 , Enyoh CE 5 , Hamid FS 6 Show all authors , Alsubaie A 7 , Almalki ASA 8 , Bradley DA 4 , Mohafez H 9 , Islam MA 10

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Fisheries and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh. rifatjahanrakib@gmail.com
  • 2 Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
  • 3 Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO-CONICET-UNS), Florida 8000, B8000BFW, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
  • 4 Centre for Applied Physics and Radiation Technologies, School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Group Research in Analytical Chemistry, Environment and Climate Change (GRACE & CC), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Imo State University Owerri, P. M. B 2000, Imo State, Nigeria
  • 6 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Physics, College of Khurma, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia
  • 8 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, 21974, Saudi Arabia
  • 9 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. h.mohafez@um.edu.my
  • 10 Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sci Rep, 2021 Nov 30;11(1):23187.
PMID: 34848770 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02457-y

Abstract

Microplastics (MP) were recognized as an emergent pollution problem due to their ubiquitous nature and bioaccumulative potential. Those present in salt for consumption could represent a human exposure route through dietary uptake. The current study, conducted in Bangladesh, reports microplastics contamination in coarse salt prepared for human consumption. Sea salt samples were collected from eight representative salt pans located in the country's largest salt farming area, in the Maheshkhali Channel, along the Bay of Bengal. Microplastics were detected in all samples, with mean concentrations ranging from 78 ± 9.33 to 137 ± 21.70 particles kg-1, mostly white and ranging in size from 500-1000 µm. The prevalent types were: fragments (48%) > films (22%) > fibers (15%) > granules and lines (both 9%). Fourier transform mid-IR and near-IR spectra (FT-MIR-NIR) analysis registered terephthalate (48%), polypropylene (20%), polyethylene (17%), and polystyrene (15%) in all samples. These results contribute to the MP's pollution knowledge in sea salts to understand and reduce this significant human exposure route and environmental pollution source in the future.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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