How many pellets are too many? The pellet pollution index as a tool to assess beach pollution by plastic resin pellets in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Fernandino,Gerson
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Elliffa,Carla I., Silva,Iracema R., Bittencourt,Abílio C.S.P.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1646-88722015000300003
• topic: Plastic Pellets; Sandy Beaches; Pellet Pollution Index; Beach Pollution; Coastal Management

Plastic pellets are significant components of marine litter and can be found floating in the sea or stranded on beaches. However, current assessments of this issue lack standardization to allow comparisons of pellet pollution levels between different locations. Thus, the present study proposes the Pellet Pollution Index (PPI) to classify beaches based on the amount of pellets found in a given area of superficial sand. Pellets were sampled from 24 sites (P01 - P24) along the municipality of Salvador, Brazil, within a quadrat of 1 x 1 x 0.05m on the strandline and backshore. Twenty-two sites were located along the oceanic coastline, while the remaining 2 sites were within the Todos os Santos Bay. Results showed that, considering the coastline of Salvador as a whole, the PPI indicated a very low degree of pollution. This approach should aid future attempts of locating and removing the plastic anthropogenic component of the sediment on beaches and in marine environments.