Microplastic Abundance, Composition And Distribution In The Endorheic Lake Naivasha, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Plastic pollution has recently gained global concern due to the negative effect it presents on both the environment and human health. In the environment, plastics degrade yielding millions of micro- and nano-scale plastic particles. The microplastics have the ability to adsorb organic pollutants, heavy metals, and micro-organisms in either the aquatic or terrestrial environments. The microplastics size range and ubiquity in the environment provides an easy pathway into the food chain through ingestion, bio-accumulation and bio-magnification. This study was conducted with an aim of determining the abundance and composition of microplastic particles in Lake Naivasha surface waters and sediments. The study also entailed the evaluation of the possible physical chemical parameters that could affect the distribution of microplastic within the lake. Volume reduced and bulk sampling methods were used to collect samples of floating debris in surface waters and sediments respectively. The physical chemical parameters were measured in situ whereas the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient levels were determined in the laboratory. Density separation using concentrated brine solution and wet peroxide oxidation methods were used for microplastics extraction. The recovered particles were analyzed using microscopy for physical characteristics (shape and color) while the microplastics chemical composition was determined using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). All the physical-chemical parameters in the sampled locations of Lake Naivasha exhibited significance differences (p