Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 71050, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Environ Geochem Health. 2021 Sep;43(9):3733-3748. doi: 10.1007/s10653-021-00872-8. Epub 2021 Mar 12.
Microplastics have been considered as contaminants of emerging concern due to ubiquity in the environment; however, the occurrence of microplastics in river estuaries is scarcely investigated. The Klang River estuary is an important ecosystem that receives various contaminants from urbanised, highly populated areas and the busiest maritime centre in Selangor, Malaysia. This study investigates the abundance and characteristics of microplastics in surface water of the Klang River estuary. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 0.5 to 4.5 particles L with a mean abundance of 2.47 particles L. There is no correlation between the abundance of microplastics and physicochemical properties, while there is a strong correlation between salinity and conductivity. The microplastics were characterised with a stereomicroscope and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyse size, shape, colour, and polymer composition. The microplastics in the surface water were predominantly in the 300-1000 μm size class, followed by > 1000 μm and < 300 μm, and were mostly transparent fibres, fragments, and pellets. Polyamide and polyethylene were the main polymer types in the composition of the microplastics, suggesting that the microplastics originated from heavily urbanised and industrial locations such as the port, jetty, and residential areas. The widespread occurrence of microplastics in the environment and subsequent penetration of aquatic food webs may pose a serious threat to organisms. This study provides baseline data and a framework for further investigation of microplastic contamination in estuaries.
微塑料因其在环境中的普遍存在而被视为新兴关注的污染物；然而，河流河口处微塑料的存在却鲜有研究。 吉隆坡河口是一个重要的生态系统，从城市化、人口稠密的地区和马来西亚雪兰莪州最繁忙的海港接收各种污染物。本研究调查了吉隆坡河口地表水微塑料的丰度和特征。微塑料的丰度范围为 0.5 至 4.5 个颗粒/升，平均丰度为 2.47 个颗粒/升。微塑料的丰度与理化性质之间没有相关性，而盐度和电导率之间存在很强的相关性。使用立体显微镜和衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外光谱法对微塑料进行了特征分析，以分析其大小、形状、颜色和聚合物组成。地表水的微塑料主要处于 300-1000 μm 的粒径范围，其次是>1000 μm 和<300 μm，且主要是透明纤维、碎片和颗粒。聚酰胺和聚乙烯是微塑料组成中的主要聚合物类型，表明微塑料源自高度城市化和工业化的地区，如港口、码头和居民区。微塑料在环境中的广泛存在以及随后对水生食物网的渗透，可能对生物构成严重威胁。本研究提供了河口微塑料污染进一步调查的基础数据和框架。
