Evaluation of microplastics in Jurujuba Cove, Niterói, RJ, Brazil, an area of mussels farming.
Once non-biodegradable, microplastics remain on the environment absorbing toxic hydrophobic compounds making them a risk to biodiversity when ingested or filtered by organisms and entering in the food chain. To evaluate the potential of the contamination by microplastics in mussels cultivated in Jurujuba Cove, Niterói, RJ, waters of three stations were collected during a rain and dry seasons using a plankton net and later filtered. Microplastics were quantified and characterized morphologically and chemically. The results showed a high concentration of microplastics in both seasons with diversity of colors, types and sizes. Synthetic polymers were present in all samples. The presence of microplastics was probably due to a high and constant load of effluent that this area receives and to the mussel farming activity that use many plastic materials. Areas with high concentrations of microplastics could not be used for mussel cultivation due to the risk of contamination to consumers.
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil. Electronic address: oc.rebeca@gmail.com.
Rebeca Oliveira
RO
Castro
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil.
Melanie L
ML
Silva
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mônica Regina C
MRC
Marques
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Fábio V
FV
de Araújo
D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D010933:Plankton / Q000254:growth & development; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012758:Shellfish; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
D010969:Plastics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Aquatic pollution; FTIR-ATR; Guanabara's Bay; Marine debris; Microplastics; Mussels farming