Environmental Health Risk of Microplastics Due to Consumption of Fish and Shellfish in the Coastal Area

The increasing accumulation of plastic waste is the most serious threat to the marine ecosystem. People who still have the habit of disposing of solid waste, especially plastic-type waste, in the marine environment have led to the discovery of microplastic content in various marine biota such as fish and shellfish. We aimed to assess the environmental health risks of microplastics due to consumption of marine life in the coastal area.

We used an observational method with the Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA) design to analyze the health risks of humans consuming fish and shellfish containing microplastics. This research was conducted in the coastal area of Takalar Regency, Indonesia in 2022. The samples used consisted of human (n = 30) and marine biota (fish, n=20; shellfish, n=20) samples. The data were obtained from observations, physical measurements of biota, laboratory tests, polymer type identification by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and microscopy.

The average concentration of microplastics containing styrene compounds in shellfish was 2.01 mg/kg. The abundance of MPs in the fish and shellfish samples was 0.01 particles/g or 10 particles/kg in fish and 7 particles/individual in shellfish. The MPs were found in line, fragment, film, and pellet forms, with different size and color variations. The average MPs exposure risk level (RQ value) for both fish and shellfish was 0.02.

All samples had RQ values < 1, which means that the microplastic-containing tofu shellfish were still safe for consumption by people living in the Takalar coastal area.