Abundance and Distribution of Suspended Microplastics in the Surface Water of Chao Phraya River Estuary

Main Article Content

Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon
Phyo Zaw Oo
Narin Boontanon
Shuhei Tanaka
Shigeo Fujii

Abstract

This study investigated the abundance and distribution of microplastics in the surface water of Chao Phraya River Estuary and estimated the possible emission sources. Three surface water samples were collected by Manta trawl and then sample pretreatment steps were performed, and analyzed using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicated the prevalence of microplastics with the mean concentration of 2.3 ´ 105 particles/km2 in the Chao Phraya river estuary, representing high microplastics pollution. The collected microplastics were categorized into different size ranges, shapes, colors and chemical structures. The smallest size range (335 to 515 microns) was the most abundant size approximately 70% of total collected microplastics. The abundance of larger size ranges of MPs significantly decreased with distance far from the land but the smallest size range remained nearly the same quantity. The dominant shapes of MPs were film and fragment with white and transparent colors indicated that these were derived from the fragmentation of mismanaged plastic waste from the land as the secondary MPs. The result of this study provides the overview of microplastics pollution in the study area to the government and environmental organizations to enforce to reduce the plastics usage and to improve the solid waste management to prevent plastic debris from entering the estuary.

Article Details

Section
Research Articles

References

Moore, C. J. 2008. Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat. Environmental Research, 108(2), 131-139. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.025.

Hammer, J., Kraak, M., & Parsons, J. 2012. Plastics in the Marine Environment: The Dark Side of a Modern Gift. Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology, 220, 1-44. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3414-6-1.

Sadri, S. S., & Thompson, R. C. 2014. On the quantity and composition of floating plastic debris entering and leaving the Tamar Estuary, Southwest England. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 81(1), 55-60. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.020.

Wang, Y., Zou, X., Peng, C., Qiao, S., Wang, T., Yu, W., …. Kornkanitnan, N. 2020. Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in surface sediments from the Gulf of Thailand. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 152, 110916. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.110916.

Thushari, G. G. N., Senevirathna, J. D. M., Yakupitiyage, A., & Chavanich, S. 2017. Effects of microplastics on sessile invertebrates in the eastern coast of Thailand: An approach to coastal zone conservation. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 124(1), 349-355. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul. 2017.06.010.

McLaren, R., Kanjanapa, K., Navasumrit, P., Gooneratne, R., & Ruchirawat, M. 2004. Cadmium in the Water and Sediments of the Chao Phraya River and Associated Waterways, Bangkok, Thailand. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 154, 385-398. doi:10.1023/B: WATE. 0000022990. 80129.

Port Authority of Thailand (P.A.T.). 1993. Map of The Chao Phraya River from Pom Phrachul to Memorial Bridge, surveyed by the Marine Survey Division, Marine Department, P.A.T. Bangkok.

Frias, J. P. G. L., Gago, J., Otero, V., & Sobral, P. 2016. Microplastics in coastal sediments from Southern Portuguese shelf waters. Marine Environmental Research, 114, 24-30. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.

marenvres.2015.12.006.

Isobe, A., Uchida, K., Tokai, T., & Iwasaki, S. 2015. East Asian seas: A hot spot of pelagic microplastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 101. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.042

Zhao, S., Zhu, L., Wang, T., & Li, D. 2014. Suspended microplastics in the surface water of the Yangtze Estuary System, China: First observations on occurrence, distribution. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 86(1), 562-568. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.032.

Auta, H., Emenike, C., & Fauziah, S. H. 2017. Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions. Environment international, 102. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2017.02.013.

Possatto, F. E., Barletta, M., Costa, M. F., Ivar do Sul, J. A., & Dantas, D. V. 2011. Plastic debris ingestion by marine catfish: An unexpected fisheries impact. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62(5), 1098-1102. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.01.036.

Aliabad, M. K., Nassiri, M., & Kor, K. 2019. Microplastics in the surface seawaters of Chabahar Bay, Gulf of Oman (Makran Coasts). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 143, 125-133. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.

037.

Heinrich Böll Foundation. 2019. Plastics Atlas 2019 (First). Berlin.