The Occurrence and Distribution of Microplastic in Sediment of the Coastal Waters of Bengkalis Island Riau Province

Abstract

The presence of microplastics, which was defined as small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size, in the aquatic environment has become a global concern these days. Once in the aquatic environment, microplastics might float in the water column or sink to the bottom sediment, depending on the particle density. This study was conducted in the coastal waters of Bengkalis Island in early 2020 with the aim to determine the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in sediment from six stations with suspected different sources of pollutant input. Sediment samples were taken using the PVC pipe at the depth of 0-10 cm, brought back to laboratory, observed the types and calculated their abundance. The results of the study showed that the highest abundance of microplastics was found at station 6 (83.33 and 26.67 particles/kg for fiber and film) and the lowest abundance was at stations 2 (30.00 particles/kg for fiber) and station 3 (10.00 particles/kg for films). The abundance of fiber type between stations was significantly different (p<0.05), but not for film type (p>0.05). The abundance of microplastics based on colour in each type showed that the highest abundance was in blue colour for fiber and white colour for film type. The abundance of microplastics in the northern part was found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher than in the southern part of Bengkalis Island which was assumed to be due to differences in oceanographic characteristics in both areas such as differences in the type and size of the sediment substrate.