Ocorrência e impactos de microplásticos no litoral sergipano: uma abordagem socioambiental

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pose potential physical, chemical and biological risks to the organisms that interact with them, including humans. The subject has been discussed at the United Nations, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals and directly expressed in SDG 14 (life below water). The coast of Sergipe has constant human activities that encourage the presence of plastic waste on its beaches. In this scenario, the present study raised questions about the consumption and incorrect disposal of (micro) plastics from a socio-environmental point of view, especially in coastal areas, bringing an overview of the plastic waste present on Sergipe beaches (article 1); assessed the occurrence of MPs on beaches, providing a diagnosis of the state of pollution by PMs (article 2) and evaluated the environmental perception of people who frequent tourist beaches in Sergipe in relation to PMs (article 3). To this end, the research was conducted using the Web of Science database, as well as the Google Scholar search engine, where updated references were sought (2018-2023, in English and Portuguese), in addition to using regulations, national and international reports Furthermore, sediment collections were carried out in months with the lowest and highest rainfall (March and May, respectively) on the Pirambu and Lagoa Redonda beaches (within the Integral Protection Conservation Unit on the north coast), Atalaia and Aruana (tourist beaches in the central coast) and Abaís (tourist beach on the south coast). Abundance, type, color, distribution of microplastics and index (MPPI - Microplastics Pollution Index and CCImps - Clean Coast Index MPs) were recorded. Furthermore, structured questionnaires with closed and multiple-choice questions were applied on the tourist beaches of Pirambu, Atalaia, Aruana and Abaís. On the beaches of Sergipe, pollution by microplastics was found, potentially generating socio-environmental impacts, of which fragment and fiber filament were the dominant typologies, in addition to white and transparent colors. The concentrations ranged from 6,80±9,09 to 20,60 ±26,64 MPs.m-2 . Among the beaches analyzed here, Aruana has the highest number of MPs. Significant differences in spatial distribution (zones) and between March and May were only observed in Pirambu. According to the general MPPI, beaches were classified as having moderate abundance (March) and high abundance (May). The CCImps indicated that the beaches were clean or very clean. In general, older people with more education tend to better perceive the aspects involving (micro)plastic pollution on the beaches of the coast of Sergipe, and in Pirambu the perception of interviewees is smaller. The results of this study reinforce that a socio-environmental approach is fundamental for planning and exercising management strategies. Such results can guide efforts, at least local ones, aimed at mitigating the problem of pollution, associated with the excessive use of plastics, especially single-use one. Therefore, this study collaborates with the provision of data for the region, and can guide future research within the theme, assisting in the better management of Sergipe beaches.