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. 2023 Jul 4;9(7):e17949.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17949. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Risk assessment of microplastic pollution in an industrial region of Bangladesh

Mahir Tajwar  1 , Mahmudul Hasan  2 , Shamiha Shafinaz Shreya  2 , Mahfuzur Rahman  3 , Nazmus Sakib  4 , Md Yousuf Gazi  1
Affiliations

Risk assessment of microplastic pollution in an industrial region of Bangladesh

Mahir Tajwar et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Despite the high potential for microplastics (MPs) pollution in Bangladesh, the presence of MPs in the industrial region has largely been unexplored in Bangladesh. So, this study was conducted to determine whether MP pollution is prevalent in the industrial soil of Bangladesh and the extent of its toxicity. To examine MPs, a total of 12 soil samples were collected from the industrial region of Narayanganj, and a stereoscopic microscope was used to visually identify the MPs. Prior to that the technique of density separation and sieving was applied to extract MPs from those 12 soil samples. Among the twelve investigated samples, a total of 151 MPs (Mean: 12.6 ± 7.9 particles kg-1) were identified, which were mostly white and ranged in size from 0.5 to 1 mm. Different types of MPs according to their shapes such as fibers (60.3%), fragments (19.2%), films (10.6%), and foam (9.9%) have been detected. 7 MPs (Mean: 0.58 ± 0.79) have been found in 3 urban farmland sites, 15 MPs (Mean: 1.87 ± 1.81) in two near metropolitan areas, and 129 MPs (Mean: 4.6 ± 4.39) in 7 industrial locations. Five polymers were identified by μ-FTIR, among which Polyamide predominated, followed by Polypropylene. According to risk assessments, the region falls under hazard categories II and III, suggesting a moderate to high risk. This paper gives thorough information on the toxicity of MP in an industrial location; therefore, it may be useful in the development of effective methods to address environmental issues.

Keywords: Agricultural land; Bangladesh; Industrial region; Microplastics; Narayanganj; Terrestrial soil.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Location map showing the sampling sites in Narayanganj, Bangladesh.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Representative images of the identified microplastics in sample sediments under a stereoscopic microscope. (a, b = fiber; c = fragment; d = foam; e = film).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The illustration represents the FTIR spectrum of microplastics used for identifying polymer composition. (a = Polyamide; b = Polyethylene; c = Polyethylene terephthalate; d = Polypropylene; e = Polyurethane).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The spatial abundance of microplastics in the study area.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The spatial concentration of the identified microplastics in the sampled locations.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The spatial distribution of fibers, fragments, films, and foams in a pie chart delineating the quantity of the types of microplastic in the sampled locations.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The abundance and distribution of polymer types in the study area.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
The polymer concentration in of the sampled locations.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Spatial distribution maps of risk evaluation indices in the study area.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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