TY - JOUR
T1 - Microplastic pollution in the marine waters and sediments of Hong Kong
AU - Tsang, Y. Y.
AU - Mak, C. W.
AU - Liebich, C.
AU - Lam, S. W.
AU - Sze, E. T.P.
AU - Chan, K. M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/2/15
Y1 - 2017/2/15
N2 - The presence of plastic waste with a diameter of less than 5 mm (“microplastics”) in marine environments has prompted increasing concern in recent years, both locally and globally. We conducted seasonal surveys of microplastic pollution in the surface waters and sediments from Deep Bay, Tolo Harbor, Tsing Yi, and Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong between June 2015 and March 2016. The average concentrations of microplastics in local coastal waters and sediments respectively ranged from 51 to 27,909 particles per 100 m3and 49 to 279 particles per kilogram. Microplastics of different shapes (mainly fragments, lines, fibers, and pellets) were identified as polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, a blend of polypropylene and ethylene propylene, and styrene acrylonitrile by means of Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. This is the first comprehensive study to assess the spatial and temporal variations of microplastic pollution in Hong Kong coastal regions.
AB - The presence of plastic waste with a diameter of less than 5 mm (“microplastics”) in marine environments has prompted increasing concern in recent years, both locally and globally. We conducted seasonal surveys of microplastic pollution in the surface waters and sediments from Deep Bay, Tolo Harbor, Tsing Yi, and Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong between June 2015 and March 2016. The average concentrations of microplastics in local coastal waters and sediments respectively ranged from 51 to 27,909 particles per 100 m3and 49 to 279 particles per kilogram. Microplastics of different shapes (mainly fragments, lines, fibers, and pellets) were identified as polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, a blend of polypropylene and ethylene propylene, and styrene acrylonitrile by means of Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. This is the first comprehensive study to assess the spatial and temporal variations of microplastic pollution in Hong Kong coastal regions.
KW - Coastal waters
KW - Plastic pollution
KW - Sediments
KW - Spatial variation
KW - Temporal variation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007578939&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.003
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 27939688
AN - SCOPUS:85007578939
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 115
SP - 20
EP - 28
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 1-2
ER -
