MICROPLASTIC CONTENT IN OYSTERS (Crassostrea virginica) FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, USA
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Blosser, Brooke Caroline
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Microplastic particles (MP) were first identified in the environment in the 1960s. Currently, MP are considered ubiquitous in the marine environment, including estuaries. The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a bivalve species native to estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America. Overall, the goal was to investigate spatial and temporal variation in MP in surface water, sediment, and oyster samples collected from nine State Shellfish Grounds (SSG) and one reference location during the Spring and Fall/Winter seasons. The objectives of this present study were to 1) categorize and quantify MP in gill and non-gill tissue of oysters, 2) estimate the potential dietary exposure of human shellfish consumers to MP and tire wear particles (TWP), 3) quantify environmental contamination of MP, and 4) compare MP concentrations in oysters collected in Spring and Fall/Winter. Prominent MP types in oysters were fibers (63%) and TWP (18%). Oyster MP concentrations ranged from 1.6 ± 0.5 MP g-1 wet weight (North Inlet, Spring season) to 4.3 ± 1.1 MP g-1 wet weight (Folly River region, Spring season) and there were limited differences in oyster MP concentrations among seasons and locations. Oyster gill tissues contained higher MP concentrations than non-gill tissue across all seasons and regions. There was no relationship between oyster MP concentrations and environmental MP concentrations during any season. This study estimates that consuming one dozen raw oysters harvested from State Shellfish Grounds in South Carolina would result in the ingestion of 162 to 415 MP, including an estimated 34-88 TWP. A dozen oysters from the present study would contain 3.4 to 9.8 times as many MP as the average American meal; however, in terms of overall exposure of humans to MP annually, this represents a low (< 0.01%) contribution.