4.7 Article

Are there plastic particles in my sugar? A pioneering study on the characterization of microplastics in commercial sugars and risk assessment

Journal

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 837, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155849

Keywords

Micropollutants; Microplastic contamination; Sugar mills; Sugar intake; FT-IR; Risk assessment

Funding

  1. Water Research Center, Jahangirnagar University [308854/2021-7]
  2. National Science and Technology Fellowship [23219.000139.2022-17]
  3. Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) (Bangladesh)
  4. National Council for Scientific and Technolog-ical Development (CNPq/Brazil)
  5. Goiano Federal Insti-tute
  6. Water Research Center, Jahangirnagar University
  7. Wazed Miah Science Research Centre, Hydrobiogeochemistry and Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University
  8. Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) (Bangladesh)
  9. National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil) [308854/2021-7]
  10. Goiano Federal Institute (GO, Brazil) [23219.000139.2022-17]

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While the effects of microplastics on human health are still uncertain, this study found the presence of microplastic-like particles in commercial sugars from different supermarkets in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The number, size, shape, color, and polymer composition of these particles were similar between branded and non-branded sugars. The study estimated that sugar consumption in Dhaka City could result in the ingestion of millions of tons of microplastics annually.
Although several studies are confirming the ubiquity of microplastics (MPs) in environments, our knowledge about their effects on human health is still very limited. Therefore, while we have not gathered definitive information on their consequences, studies that aim to identify the MPs sources constitute subsidies to better understand the various exposure pathways to these pollutants. Thus, we investigated the possible presence of MP-like particles in five brands of commercial sugars and two unpacked, unbranded, and unlabeled sugars (hereinafter referred to as non-branded), obtained from different supermarkets in Dhaka (Bangladesh). Surprisingly, MPs-like particles were identified in all analyzed samples and taken together, our data demonstrated similar variations (between branded and non-branded samples) in terms of number, size, shape, color, and polymer composition. The number of plastic particles/kg sugar was, on average, 343.7 +/- 32.08 (mean +/- SEM), having been observed a tendency for a higher frequency of MPs < 300 mu m. Overall, microfibers and spherules were the most and the predominant colors of MPs (in general) were black, pink, blue, and brown. The FT-IR analysis confirmed the chemical nature of MPs (in branded and non-branded), having identified nine polymeric types (ABS, PCV, PET, EVA, CA, PTFE, HDPE, PC, and nylon), being ABS and PVC the most frequent. Furthermore, we estimate that sugar consumption in Dhaka City can cause the ingestion of millions of tons of MPs annually (2.4 to 25.6 tons) (with an average of 10.2 tons). Our study is the most comprehensive report

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