Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 139, Issue -, Pages 402-411Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.12.016
Keywords
Microplastics degradation; Micropollutants; Metals; Caribbean estuaries; Enrichment; Polyolefin
Funding
- University of Cartagena
- Colciencias [647/2014]
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Microplastics are new pollutants considered a source of concern for the oceans worldwide. This research reports the concentrations of trace metals on microplastics collected on beaches from Cartagena, an industrialized city in the Caribbean. Mercury (Hg) was quantified using a Hg analyzer and forty-seven trace elements were assessed by ICP/MS. Most abundant microplastics in beaches were those with the lower degree of surface degradation features (SDF), categorized as white-new polyethylene pellets, followed by secondary microplastics (SM). Greater Hg levels were found in SM, white-degraded (WDP) and black pellets. Trace elements concentrations were linked to the degree of SDF registered in examined pellets, with larger concentrations in WDP. Compared to white-new pellets, Ba, Cr, Rb, Sr, Ce, Zr, Ni, Pb were the most accumulated elements in WDP, as their surface enhance the sorption processes. Microplastic pollution represents a toxicological hazard because its ability to accumulate and transport toxic elements.
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