Quantification of microplastics in sediments from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island USA using a novel isolation and extraction method
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-2022
Abstract
Microplastics are small plastic particles found ubiquitously in marine environments. In this study, a hybridized method was developed for the extraction of microplastics (45–1000 μm) from sediments using sodium bromide solution for density separation. Method development was tested using spiked microplastics as internal standards. The method was then used to extract microplastics from sediments in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA. Suspect microplastics were analyzed with Raman spectroscopy. Microplastic abundance ranged from 40 particles/100 g sediment to 4.6 million particles/100 g sediment (wet weight). Cellulose acetate fibers were the most abundant microplastic. These results are some of the first data for microplastics in Rhode Island sediments.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume
174
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Cashman, Michaela A., Troy Langknecht, Dounia El Khatib, Robert M. Burgess, Thomas B. Boving, Sandra Robinson, and Kay T. Ho. "Quantification of microplastics in sediments from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island USA using a novel isolation and extraction method." Marine Pollution Bulletin 174, (2022). doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113254.