Microplastic Presence in Sediment and Water of a Lagoon Bordering the Urban Agglomeration of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria

Microplastics are a fast-emerging group of contaminants. Their worldwide occurrence in water, sediment, and aquatic fauna raises questions and concerns as to their probable effects on aquatic life and ecology. This study investigates for the first time presence, abundance, and types of microplastics in water and sediment from a lagoon bordering the large urban agglomeration of Lagos in Nigeria, and renders additional information about the sediment composition. Water and sediment samples were collected from four locations in the Lagos Lagoon and a tributary. The abundance and distribution of microplastics in four range classes were determined for the sampled locations. Plastic particles were counted using digital microscopy, and identified with Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The abundance of microplastics ranged from 310-2319 particles/kg in sediment, and 139-303 particles/L in water. The large discrepancy in the sediments can be explained by sediment characteristics as more microplastics were detected in the fine-grained sediments of Makoko. Fibres were the predominant shape found in all samples followed by fragments and few films. Fibres were more abundant in water (92.6%) than in sediments (32.5%), while more fragments and foils occurred in sediments. The most commonly used polymers polypropylene and polyethylene were also the most detected ones in both matrices. Compared to other studies in Nigeria, our findings especially in the coarser sediments were lower while the fine-grained site revealed similar results.