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Battulga, B.; Atarashi-Andoh, Mariko; Koarashi, Jun
no journal, ,
Plastic debris has been recognized as one of the carriers of hazardous substances in the aquatic ecosystem due to its ubiquitous distribution and potential interaction with pollutants through developed biofilms. In this study, we aimed to extract biofilms from the environmental plastics using a newly developed extraction method and to determine the concentration of radiocesium (
Cs) and stable isotope ratios (
C and 
N) in the extracted biofilm samples. Visible plastics were collected from the mouths of coastal rivers in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, and applied to the extraction procedures. After plastic and biofilm separation with ultrasonication, biofilm samples were collected by the two ways: freeze-drying (15.5-44.4 mg); and freeze-drying after syringe treatment (14.5-65.4 mg). The XRD diffractograms of biofilm samples confirmed that biofilms obtained by freeze-drying only were still heterogeneous and the agglomerations of organic substances, mineral particles, and small microplastics (MPs, 
1 mm). The results also demonstrated that biofilm extraction was achieved by syringe treatment separating the mineral and small MPs particles, resulting in homogenous biofilms from the surface of plastics. Preliminarily results of Cs activity concentrations in heterogenous (ranging from 0.22 to 0.54 Bq g
) and homogenous (0.82
0.04 Bq g) biofilm samples revealed that MPs serve as a carrier for Cs in the coastal river environment mediated by developed biofilms.
Battulga, B.; Atarashi-Andoh, Mariko; Koarashi, Jun
no journal, ,
Plastic debris has been recognized as an emerging contaminant in the global ecosystem. Although microplastics (MPs) have received special attention from the scientific community owing to their widespread distribution, application of highly sensitive techniques to evaluate the characteristics of MPs is still under consideration. In this study, we demonstrate multiple analytical approaches including microscopic, spectroscopic, and isotopic analyses to track MP characterization obtained from coastal river environment. We selected two sampling sites from coastal areas in Japan and collected visible plastic samples. At the same time, surface water and coastal sand samples were collected to evaluate the seasonal variations in MP occurrence and composition. Seasonal differences in occurrence and morphotypes of MPs were detected in both sampling sites, suggesting variations in geographical patterns and consumption of plastic materials in the studied region. We also found differences in carbon isotopic composition between the MPs composed of the same polymer (i.e., polyethylene and polypropylene) but with different colors. Preliminary results of Cs activity concentrations revealed that plastics serve as carriers for radionuclides mediated by biofilms in the coastal river environment. Furthermore, occurrences and differences in the composition of the MPs in the study areas indicate that point and nonpoint sources of MPs strongly affect their concentration in the aquatic environment.