Feb 19, 1985 - readily mask the identification of microplastics and any particle that has ... microplastics from samples rich in plankton without loss of ...
Prevalence of Microplastics in the Marine Waters of Qatar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)* Azenith B. Castillo, Ibrahim Al-Maslamani, Jeffrey Philip Obbard Qatar University, Environmental Science Center, P.O. Box 2713, State of Qatar *Accepted for Publication in: Marine Pollution Bulletin, May 2016
Introduction
Results and Discussions
• Plastic is considered as the primary material of the 21st century due to its widespread application in industrial and consumer products. However, low recycling rates and improper disposal of plastic waste results in the accumulation of plastics in the environment, and this has led to the emergence of a new type of contaminant referred to as microplastics.
Results of Method Validation: Sample Digestion
• Microplastics are any plastic particles that are less than 5mm in size (according to NOOA). Its sources include pelleted plastics used as feedstock in the plastic industry and personal care (primary source) or as a product from the fragmentation of larger plastic pieces due to photolytic UV radiation, oxidation, hydrolysis, biological degradation and ocean’s hydrodynamics (secondary source) (Andrady et.al., 2011).
• The digestion method resulting in highest particle recovery efficiency was 1M NaOH. (Fig. 4, ANOVA, Tukey HSD post-hoc analysis p
