Tse Yuet-Tung, Lo Hoi-Shing, Tsang Chi-Wing, Han Jie, Fang James Kar-Hei, Chan Sidney Man-Ngai, Sze Eric Tung-Po
School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Homantin, Hong Kong.
Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 25;879:163006. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163006. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
Given the potential risk to the ecosystem, attention has increased in recent decades to the contamination of the aquatic environment by microplastics (MPs). Due to the limitations of conventional analysis methods of MPs, little is known about the size distribution and abundance of a full-size MPs from 1 μm to 5 mm. The present study quantified MPs with size ranges of 50 μm - 5 mm and 1-50 μm in the coastal marine waters from twelve locations in Hong Kong using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry respectively, during the end of wet (September 2021) and dry (March 2022) seasons. The average abundance of MPs with size ranges of 50 μm - 5 mm and 1-50 μm from twelve sampling locations marine surface waters were found ranging from 27 to 104 particles L and 43,675-387,901 particles L in the wet season respectively, and 13-36 particles L and 23,178-338,604 particles L in the dry season respectively. Significant temporal and spatial variations of small MPs abundance might be observed at the sampling locations, which were contributed by the influences of the estuary of Pearl River, sewage discharge points, land structure, and other anthropogenic activities. Based on the MPs abundance information, ecological risk assessment was conducted and revealed that the small MPs (< 10 μm) in coastal marine surface waters may pose potential health risks to aquatic organisms. Additional risk assessments are needed in order to determine whether or not the MPs exposure would cause health risks to the public.
鉴于对生态系统的潜在风险，近几十年来，微塑料（MPs）对水生环境的污染受到了更多关注。由于传统MPs分析方法的局限性，对于粒径从1微米到5毫米的全尺寸MPs的尺寸分布和丰度了解甚少。本研究分别在雨季末期（2021年9月）和旱季末期（2022年3月），使用荧光显微镜和流式细胞仪对香港12个地点的近岸海水环境中粒径范围为50微米至5毫米和1至50微米的MPs进行了量化。在12个采样地点的海水表层水中，粒径范围为50微米至5毫米和1至50微米的MPs平均丰度在雨季分别为27至104个/升和43,675至387,901个/升，在旱季分别为13至36个/升和23,178至338,604个/升。在采样地点可能观察到小粒径MPs丰度存在显著的时空变化，这是由珠江河口、污水排放点、陆地结构和其他人为活动的影响造成的。基于MPs丰度信息进行了生态风险评估，结果显示近岸海水表层水中的小粒径MPs（<10微米）可能对水生生物构成潜在健康风险。为了确定MPs暴露是否会对公众造成健康风险，还需要进行额外的风险评估。
