Microplastics accumulation in pacific oysters from Danang bay, Vietnam

Abstract

The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in the marine environment has become a global concern in recent years. MPs in oysters were considered aspotential pollution in cultured farms in coastal areas. Accumulation of MPs in seafood may pose a threat to food safety, therefore it is important to investigate the abundance of MPs in bivalves to determine the potential risks of MPs to human health. In this research,MPs were identified and quantifiedin pacific oysters Crassostrea gigaswhich are cultured in Danangbay, Viet Nam. The obtained results showed that the average MPs concentration in oyster wasabout 2.36±2.14items/g (wet weight) and 33.25± 25.93 items/individual. The most abundant MPs size wasin the range of 0-50μm (43.98%), followed by the range of 50-100 μm (37.59%). Besides,the most common shape was fragments (79.32%), followed by fibers (20.30%). Chemical composition of MPs polymer types was detectedby μFT-IRspectrausingaNicolet iN10 MX Infrared Imaging Microscope. The major polymer types of MPs wereNylon (28.57%), followed by Rayon (23.31%), and Phenol resin(PFs 8.65%). The results indicated that the occurrenceof MPs in pacific oystersfrom Danangbayis indeed a potential riskto human healthand further investigations need to beimplementedfor monitoring and improving MPs assessment in bivalves of Viet Nam.