Research articles
ScienceAsia 46 (2020):ID 336-343 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2020.042
Occurrence of microplastics on beach sediment at
Libong, a pristine island in Andaman Sea, Thailand
Siriporn Pradita,b,*, Prawit Towatanaa,b, Thongchai Nitiratsuwanc, Suthep Jualaongd,
Monticha Jirajarusa, Kittiwara Sornplanga,b, Prakrit Noppradita,b, Yardtip Darakaia,
Chaiyapruk Weerawonge
ABSTRACT: Microplastic pollution is a global issue and a hot issue in Thailand. This is the first assessment of
microplastics at Libong, a pristine island, located in Andaman Sea. The investigation was carried out by collecting
the sediment from beach and mudflat areas of the island in May and July, 2019. Three class sizes of microplastics were
determined: greater than 5 mm, 18 pieces; 1?5 mm, 28 pieces; and less than 1 mm, 129 pieces. The total number
of microplastics from beach sediment was greater than that from the mudflat sediment. The discovered microplastics
were mainly constituted of fibers (59%) and fragments (41%). A great variety of colors were found, and white (43%
from beach, 41% from mudflat area) was the most common, followed by blue (9% from beach, 35% from mudflat)
and red (12% from beach, 6% from mudflat). Polymers identified by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer
consisted of poly vinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP Nike outlet), Nylon, Polyethylene (PE), Polyester, Polyacrylate (PA) and
polymer with a structure similar to EPDM rubber.
Download PDF
312 Downloads 1386 Views
| a |
Marine and Coastal Resources Institute, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla
University, Songkhla 90110 Thailand |
| b |
Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla
90110 Thailand |
| c |
Faculty of Science and Fisheries Technology, Trang Campus, Rajamangala University of Technology
Srivijaya, Trang 92150 Thailand |
| d |
Marine and Coastal Resources Research, the Eastern Gulf of Thailand, Department of Marine and
Coastal Resources, Thailand |
| e |
Mu Ko Libong Non-hunting Area, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation,
Thailand |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: siriporn.pra@psu.ac.th
Received 27 Jan 2020, Accepted 16 May 2020
|
