Baseline assessment of microplastic concentrations in marine and freshwater environments of a developing Southeast Asian country, Viet Nam

Strady, Emilie; Đặng, Thị Hà; Dao, Thanh Duong; Dinh, Hai Ngoc; Do, Thi Thanh Dung; Duong, Thanh Nghi; Duong, Thi Thuy; Hoang, Duc An; Kieu-Le, Thuy Chung; Le, Thi Phuong Quynh; Mai Hương,; Trinh, Dang Mau; Nguyễn, Quốc Hùng; Tran-Nguyen, Quynh Anh; Trần, Quốc Việt; Truong, Tran Nguyen Sang; Chu, Van Hai; Võ, Văn Chi

Baseline assessment of microplastic concentrations in marine and freshwater environments of a developing Southeast Asian country, Viet Nam

2021

In aquatic environments, assessment of microplastic concentrations is increasing worldwide but environments from developing countries remain under-evaluated. Due to disparities of facilities, financial resources and human resources between countries, protocols of sampling, analysis and observations used in developed countries cannot be fully adapted in developing ones, and required specific adaptations. In Viet Nam, an adapted methodology was developed and commonly adopted by local researchers to implement a microplastic monitoring in sediments and surface waters of 21 environments (rivers, lakes, bays, beaches) of eight cities or provinces. Microplastic concentrations in surface waters varied from 0.35 to 2522 items m-3, with the lowest concentrations recorded in the bays and the highest in the rivers. Fibers dominated over fragments in most environments (from 47% to 97%). The microplastic concentrations were related to the anthropogenic pressure on the environment, pointing out the necessity in a near future to identify the local sources of microplastics.

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