Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Marine Pollution Bulletin

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul

Baseline

Baseline assessment of microplastic concentrations in marine and

freshwater environments of a developing Southeast Asian country,
Viet Nam
Emilie Strady a, b, *, Thi Ha Dang c, Thanh Duong Dao d, Hai Ngoc Dinh e, Thi Thanh Dung Do c,
Thanh Nghi Duong e, Thi Thuy Duong f, g, Duc An Hoang h, Thuy Chung Kieu-Le i, j,
Thi Phuong Quynh Le g, k, Huong Mai d, Dang Mau Trinh l, Quoc Hung Nguyen m,
Quynh Anh Tran-Nguyen n, Quoc Viet Tran b, Tran Nguyen Sang Truong b, Van Hai Chu m,
Van Chi Vo h
a
Aix-Marseille Univ., Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (M I O), Marseille, Universite de Toulon, CNRS/IRD, France
b
CARE, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM, Viet Nam
c
Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Ba Ria – Vung Tau University, Viet Nam
d
University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Viet Nam
e
IMER, Institute of Marine Environment and Resources, Vietnam Academic Science and Technology, Viet Nam
f
Institute of Environmental Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Viet Nam
g
Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Viet Nam
h
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Quy Nhon University, Viet Nam
i
Faculty of Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
j
Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
k
Institute of Natural Products Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Viet Nam
l
Faculty of Biology - Environmental Science, The University of Da Nang - University of Science and Education, Viet Nam
m
CASE Center of Analytical Experimentation and Services, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
n
Faculty of Chemistry, The University of Da Nang - University of Science and Education, Viet Nam

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In aquatic environments, assessment of microplastic concentrations is increasing worldwide but environments
Lake from developing countries remain under-evaluated. Due to disparities of facilities, financial resources and human
River resources between countries, protocols of sampling, analysis and observations used in developed countries
Bay
cannot be fully adapted in developing ones, and required specific adaptations. In Viet Nam, an adapted meth­
Reservoir
Water
odology was developed and commonly adopted by local researchers to implement a microplastic monitoring in
Sediment sediments and surface waters of 21 environments (rivers, lakes, bays, beaches) of eight cities or provinces.
Microplastic concentrations in surface waters varied from 0.35 to 2522 items m-3, with the lowest concentrations
recorded in the bays and the highest in the rivers. Fibers dominated over fragments in most environments (from
47% to 97%). The microplastic concentrations were related to the anthropogenic pressure on the environment,
pointing out the necessity in a near future to identify the local sources of microplastics.

Microplastics, referring to plastic particles ranging from 1 to 5000 size to form pellets or microbeads for example, i.e. primary micro­
μm long (Frias and Nash, 2019), are polluting the terrestrial and aquatic plastics, or can result of plastic litter fragmentation, enhanced by UV
environments and are becoming a threat to the health of ecosystems, radiation, temperature, turbulence (e.g. wave action, current), or of
biota and humans (Guzzetti et al., 2018; Prata et al., 2020; Rochman garment fragmentation during washing, i.e. secondary microplastics.
et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2019). Both primary and secondary microplastics are mainly released to the
Microplastics can be specifically manufactured in the micrometer aquatic environment through wastewater effluents of domestic or

* Corresponding author at: Aix-Marseille Univ., Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (M I O), Marseille, Universite de Toulon, CNRS/IRD, France.
E-mail address: emilie.strady@ird.fr (E. Strady).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111870
Received 6 October 2020; Received in revised form 12 November 2020; Accepted 20 November 2020
Available online 28 November 2020
0025-326X/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

industrial origins (Horton et al., 2017). The technologies used in large quantity of plastic litter to waterways and ocean (Jambeck et al.,
wastewater treatment plants (e.g. primary sedimentation, dissolved air 2015; Lebreton et al., 2017) but little is known regarding their micro­
flotation, coagulation, filtration processes, activated sludge process, plastic emission (e.g. (Alam et al., 2019; Cordova et al., 2019; Esquinas
membrane bioreactor or ozonation) directly influence the removal of et al., 2020; Fu and Wang, 2019; Zhang et al., 2018, 2020).
microplastic in the effluents and so their release in the environment (Bui Lately, most microplastic research papers or methodology reviews
et al., 2020). The sources of microplastics released to the aquatic envi­ pointed out the need to homogenize the methodology, from the sam­
ronment are numerous. It can be from waste origin during solid waste pling, the laboratory analysis to the tools to observe and identify the
collection, processing, land-filling or transportation, from tyre particles, nature of the polymers (e.g. Cowger et al., 2020; Dehaut et al., 2019;
vehicle-derived debris or from agricultural plastic (Galgani et al., 2015; Prata et al., 2019). Many papers have indeed evidenced the influence of
Huang et al., 2020). Then, the runoff via storm drains or via drainage the equipments and protocols used on the measured concentrations (e.g.
ditches, additionally to wind action and atmospheric fallouts (Dris et al., Barrows et al., 2017; Covernton et al., 2019). Nevertheless, establishing
2016), can transfer microplastics towards the aquatic environment. a common worldwide protocol is challenging and unrealistic. The dis­
Once in the environment, microplastics are subjected to transport, parities of facilities, financial and human resources between countries
deposition, settling, resuspension, aggregation, biofouling (Li et al., are the main barriers. In Viet Nam, for example, the absence of river,
2018; Nguyen et al., 2020b; Waldschläger and Schüttrumpf, 2019). coastal and offshore oceanographic vessel is limiting the use of a Manta
Their fate depends on several simultaneous factors, like particle char­ net trawl for sampling microplastics, and the absence of μFTIR or
acteristics such as density, shape, length, diameter and area (Khatmul­ μRaman is restricting the possibility of determining the nature of the
lina and Isachenko, 2017) and like environmental features such as sampled microplastics locally. Thus, despite some methods are
hydrology, wind, tides, current, flooding, precipitations, river or lake acclaimed by most organizations or group of experts (GESAMP, 2019),
depth, water physico-chemical characteristics (Choy et al., 2019; Hoel­ the impossibility of fully using them is not a choice but a reality which
lein et al., 2019; Hurley et al., 2018; Lenaker et al., 2019; Strady et al., local researchers and technicians must face. Therefore, a common and
2020). adapted (i.e. to local facilities and resources) methodology for assessing
Assessment of microplastic concentrations in aquatic environments microplastics in the aquatic environments have been developed in Viet
is increasing worldwide but some areas remain under-evaluated, espe­ Nam, following our first investigations in the Sai Gon River (Lahens
cially the environments from or crossing the developing countries (Cera et al., 2018; Strady et al., 2020) and based on existing scientific litter­
et al., 2020; Chae and An, 2017). Those areas were pointed out to emit ature. It aimed to face the local technical challenges, to follow as much

Fig. 1. Location of the 21 study sites.

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E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

as possible the recommendations of group of experts using effective al­ adapted to the microplastic concentrations measured at each sampling
ternatives and to provide robust assessment of microplastic concentra­ sites during pre-campaigns. The net was then rinsed from the outside
tions in waters and sediments. The COMPOSE project (Creating an and the collected fraction was recovered in a 500 mL glass container,
Observatory for Measuring Plastic Occurrence in the Society and Envi­ and kept at 4 ◦ C in the laboratory until analysis. In rivers and estuaries
ronment) was dedicated to set up common protocols, to train local re­ influenced by tides, samples were taken at the end of the ebb tides.
searchers and technicians from various institutions across the country Surface beach sediments were sampled using a homemade PVC tube
via a research network, to provide the basic tool and equipment, and to corer (6 cm diameter) over a depth of 5 cm. A sample is a composite of
start a national monitoring assessment of microplastic contents in five-subsamples which were taken randomly in the intertidal zone in an
sediment and surface water of lakes, rivers, estuaries and bays. area of 100 m2. At each sites, the five subsamples were gathered in one
Under this context, specific aquatic environments were studied in PE plastic bag and each sample was kept in a cool place in the laboratory
nine cities and provinces of Viet Nam, representing a total of 21 sam­ until analysis.
pling sites (Fig. 1; Table 1), chosen for their particular environmental For surface water laboratory analysis, the protocol developed (Fig. 2)
characteristics and their accessibility. Microplastics were measured in aimed to ease the final observations of the filter. At first, each sample
19 surface waters and 2 beach sediments. In Northern Viet Nam, we was sieved on a 1 mm mesh size sieve to remove litter >1 mm (e.g.
focused on the Red River system (1140 km long; annual mean water vegetal, wood, shell) while the plastic items >1 mm were kept sepa­
discharge: 3495 m3 s− 1 (Dang et al., 2010)) especially in its Delta, from rately and put on a GF/A filter for later observation. In a second step, the
Ha Noi, (7,520,000 inhabitants; GSO, 2019), the capital of Viet Nam, to fraction <1000 μm was kept back in the 500 mL glassware bottle and
the coastal zone of Quang Ninh province. Three riverine sites and three was treated using three successive reagents addition (Lahens et al.,
urban lakes were selected in Ha Noi: the site HN-RR-W on the Red River 2018; Strady et al., 2020) (i) 1 g of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS,
close to Ha Noi; the site HN-TL-W on the To Lich River (13.5 km long; Merck®) at 50 ◦ C for 24 h; (ii) 1 mL of biozym SE (protease and amylase,
mean water discharge: 30 m3 s− 1), impacted by untreated wastewater Spinnrad®) and 1 mL of biozym F (lipase, Spinnrad®) at 40 ◦ C for 48 h;
release; the site HN-NR-W on the Nhue River (74 km long; mean water (iii) 15 mL of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 30%, Merck®) at 40 ◦ C for 48 h.
discharge: 70 m3 s− 1), receiving waters from the To Lich River; the site During each step, the bottle was closed and maintained in a laboratory
HN-HT-W in the natural Ho Tay Lake (1.35 km2 area; depth: 0.7–5.2 m) oven. Then, in a third step, the sample was transferred through a 250 μm
receiving domestic treated and untreated waters; the sites HN-BM-W mesh size sieve in order to remove all the mineral and organic particles
and HN-YS-W in the artificial Yen So Lake (5.67 km2 area; depth: lower than 250 μm and to obtain clearer filters for microplastics ob­
0.5–4.8 m) and Bay Mau Lake (0.28 km2 area; depth: 0.5–2.5 m). In Hai servations: the fraction <250 μm was discarded while the fraction >250
Phong and Quang Ninh, three coastal sites were selected: the site HP-DS- μm was transferred into a clean 250 mL glass beaker using filtered NaCl
W at the mouth of the Bach Dang estuary (a branch of the Red River solution (density 1.18 g mL− 1). In the fourth step, the beaker was gently
Delta) in the Do Son Bay; the site QN-CL-W in the Cua Luc Bay nearby Ha filled with NaCl solution to perform density separation by overflow. This
Long City (300,000 inhabitants; GSO, 2019) and the site QN-HL-W in the step was repeated at least 5 times to ensure the retrieve of plastic items.
Ha Long Bay well known for its intensive aquaculture farming and Fifthly, the overflowed solution was filtered on GF/A filters using a
touristic activities. In Central Viet Nam, two urban lakes and one river glassware filtration unit. Finally, the filters were kept separately in
were selected in Da Nang City (1284.9 km2 area; 1,080,700 inhabitants; sterile petri dishes until observation under the stereomicroscope Leica
GSO, 2019): the site DN-CV-W in Cong Vien Lake (0.11 km2 area; 2.2 m S9i equipped with a high resolution camera.
average depth), which is a closed system receiving wastewaters from For sediment laboratory analysis, the protocol developped followed
domestic activities; the site DN-HP-W in Hoa Phu Lake (0.05 km2 area; the main steps of the protocol for surface waters and presented some
3.2 m average depth) which is an opened system receiving mainly specificities, mainly regarding the digestion steps (Fig. 3). To begin, 10 g
wastewaters from the city landfill; the site DN-HR-W on the downstream of sediment was sieved on a 1 mm mesh size to remove the litter >1 mm
part of the Han River (204 km long; mean water discharge: 53 m3 s− 1), in and retrieve the plastic >1 mm. Then, the sieved fraction was put in a
Da Nang City center. In the South Central coastal region, three sites were beaker and digested using 20 mL of H2O2 30% only. Laboratory tests
selected in Binh Dinh province (1,534,800 inhabitants; GSO, 2019): two evidenced that the use of SDS and bioenzymes do not have efficient
sites in the Thi Nai lagoon (51 km2 area), BD-TN1-W near the mouth of effects on the organic phase removal in the sediments and did not
the Kon River (178 km long; mean water discharge: 59 m3 s− 1) receiving improve the filter observation at the last step. The beaker covered with
untreated domestic and industrial wastewaters and BD-TN2-W near the aluminium foil was put on a heating plate at 40 ◦ C during 3 h for
mouth of the Ha Thanh River (58 km long; mean water discharge: 14 m3 digestion. The oxidized sediment was then transferred in a 250 μm mesh
s− 1) receiving also untreated domestic and industrial wastewaters; the size sieve using a spatula and rinsing with a squirt bottle containing
site BD-QNB-W located in Quy Nhon Bay. In Southern Viet Nam, in the filtered water. Then, the density separation, filtration and observations
Sai Gon- Dong Nai Rivers system, three sites were selected: the site DN- steps were similar to the ones for surface waters.
TA-W in the Tri An Reservoir (area: 75–324 km2), located along the Microplastics observed were categorized under fragments (including
Dong Nai River; the site DN-HA-W on the Dong Nai River (586 km long; films and foams), fibers and pellets. The morphology was measured
mean water discharge: 632 m3 s− 1 (Nguyen et al., 2020a)), downstream using the LAS software® as followed: the area for fragments, the length
the Tri An Reservoir and upstream the confluence with the Sai Gon and diameter for fibers, and the area and perimeter for pellets. The
River; the site TN-DT-W in the Dau Tieng Reservoir (area: 270 km2) nature of microplastics was determined on ten subsamples from each
along the Sai Gon River, upstream Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Finally, in sites using a FTIR-ATR iS50 Thermo Fisher Scientific®. On a total of 184
Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, on the coast zone, one site was selected at fragments and 43 fibers analyzed, the polymers were: 77 polyethylene,
the mouth of the Dinh River estuary VT-DR-W nearby a fishery zone and 62 polypropylene, 62 alkyd resin polyester, 13 polyolefins, 5 polyester, 2
two sites on shoreline, at two sandy beaches, the site VT-BS-S on Sau polystyrene one polyamide and 5 additives. We note that only the largest
Beach, a 4 km long touristic and daily-cleaned beach and the site VT-BD- fibers and fragments were analyzed by FTIR-ATR. The smallest size was
S on Dau Beach, an isolated narrow and 1 km long beach with many very challenging to retrieve, and consequently, the determination of the
cliffs protruding into the sea. Surface water samples were taken from nature of microplastic was not representative of the whole sample sta­
local boat in surface water of lake, river, estuary and bay, using a 80 μm tistically. Thus, based on the GESAMP recommendation when visual
mesh size plankton net (diameter 50 cm) coupled to a flowmeter observation is performed without systematic analysis of the polymers,
(General Oceanics®) to determine the sampled water volume. The net we set up the minimum length at 300 μm (e.g. maximum 5000 μm) and
was exposed from less than a minute to 10 min which was equivalent to minimum area size at 45000 μm2 (e.g. maximum at 25,000,000 μm2)
0.05 to 143 m3 according to sites (Table 1). The time of exposure was (GESAMP, 2019). We defined fiber as elongated line being equally thick,

3
 E. Strady et al.
Table 1
characteristics of sampling sites.
Site code Site name Province/city Latitude Longitude Environment Surrounding anthropogenic activities Compartment Volume Mass Sampling
m3 kg from

Riverine environments
HN-NR- Nhue River Ha Noi N20◦ 55′ 44.802′′ E105◦ 48′ 7.167′′ River Urban, dense population density, agricultural runoff, Surface water 12.9 Bridge
W handcraft villages
HN-TL-W To Lich River Ha Noi N20◦ 57′ 47.372′′ E105◦ 49′ 4.947′′ River Urban, dense population density Surface water 0.05 Bridge
HN-RR- Red River Ha Noi N21◦ 2′ 34.872′′ E105◦ 51′ 39.146′′ River Urban, dense population density, agricultural runoff Surface water 43.6 Local boat
W
DN-HR- Han River Da Nang N16◦ 4′ 19.495′′ E108◦ 13′ 35.813′′ River Urban zone Surface water 22.4 Bridge
W
DN-HA- Dong Nai River Dong Nai N10 54 1.947
◦ ′ ′′
E106 50 20.446
◦ ′ ′′
River Urban zone, industrial environment Surface water 46.6 Local boat
W

Lake and reservoir environments

HN-BM- Bay Mau Lake Ha Noi N21◦ 1′ 40.881′′ E105◦ 50′ 37.521′′ Lake Urban lake Surface water 3.51 Local boat
W
HN-HT- Ho Tay Lake Ha Noi N21◦ 3′ 6.537′′ E105◦ 49′ 13.738′′ Lake Urban lake, households Surface water 11.7 Local boat
W
HN-YS-W Yen So Lake Ha Noi N20 58 8.280
◦ ′ ′′
E105 51 21.121
◦ ′ ′′
Lake Urban lake Surface water 11.3 Local boat
DN-CV-W Cong Vien Lake Da Nang N16◦ 3′ 46.511′′ E108◦ 12′ 21.167′′ Lake Urban lake Surface water 6.66 Local boat
4

DN-HP- Hoa Phu Lake Da Nang N16◦ 3′ 57.851′′ E108◦ 9′ 39.671′′ Lake Urban lake Surface water 3.26 Local boat
W
DN-TA-W Tri An Reservoir Dong Nai N11◦ 6′ 10.687′′ E107◦ 4′ 55.182′′ Reservoir Rural zone, aquaculture, agriculture Surface water 143 Local boat
TN-DT-W Dau Tieng Tay Ninh N11◦ 20′ 14.729′′ E106◦ 19′ 54.926′′ Reservoir Rural zone, aquaculture, agriculture Surface water 132 Local boat
Reservoir

Estuarine, lagoon and beach environments

HP-DS-W Do Son Bay Hai Phong N20◦ 39′ 46.738′′ E106◦ 43′ 40.713′′ Bay Fisheries Surface water 44.2 Local boat
QN-CL-W Cua Luc Bay Quang Ninh N20◦ 58′ 56.247′′ E107◦ 3′ 48.628′′ Bay Industrial activities Surface water 51.0 Local boat
QN-HL-W Ha Long Bay Quang Ninh N20◦ 55′ 35.79′′ E107◦ 4′ 45.01′′ Bay Aquaculture, touristic activities Surface water 34.3 Local boat
BD-TN1- Thi Nai Lagoon 1 Binh Dinh N13◦ 50′ 24.3′′ E109◦ 13′ 22.6′′ Lagoon Aquaculture, fisheries Surface water 21.0 Local boat
W
BD-TN2- Thi Nai Lagoon 2 Binh Dinh N13◦ 51′ 5.6′′ E109◦ 13′ 41.1′′ Lagoon Aquaculture, fisheries Surface water 35.4 Local boat
W
BD-QN- Quy Nhon Bay Binh Dinh N13◦ 45′ 36.9′′ E109◦ 13′ 21.8′′ Bay Recreational activities, fisheries Surface water 4.56 Local boat
W
VT-DR-W Dinh River- Ba Ria -Vung N10◦ 24′ 50.386′′ E107◦ 7′ 13.598 Estuary Aquaculture, port, maritime traffic Surface water 4.76 Local boat

Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Estuary Tau
VT-BS-S Sau Beach Ba Ria -Vung N10 19 48.576
◦ ′ ′′
E107 5 25.659
◦ ′ ′′
Beach Touristic and cleaned beach Sediment 0.01 Sediment
Tau core
VT-BD-S Dau Beach Ba Ria -Vung N10◦ 22′ 8.947′′ E107◦ 3′ 38.48′′ Beach Local beach Sediment 0.01 Sediment
Tau core
E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Fig. 2. Protocol for surface water analysis for microplastic observations (the volume of reagents are adapted for 300 mL of sample).

not tapered towards the ends, having a three-dimensional bending. related to controls have been applied on the measured microplastic
Fragments were defined as irregular shaped hard particles having concentrations in the environment presented hereafter.
appearance of being broken down from a larger piece of litter, or flat Microplastic concentrations in surface waters varied from 0.35 to
flexible particle with smooth or angular edges, or near spherical or 2522 items m− 3 showing a wide range of variation up to four orders of
granular particle which deforms readily under pressure and can be magnitude among the different environments (Fig. 4). Microplastic
partly elastic. All must have an absence of visible cellular or organic concentrations in sediments were in the same range, 1542 items m− 3 in
structures and being homogeneously colored. We excluded straight and Sau Beach (VT-BS-W) with 7% of fragments and 2024 items m− 3 in Dau
transparent or whitish fibers in order to exclude biological or organic Beach (VT-BD-W) without fragments observed.
origin and we excluded particles from tyres. Globally, lower range of microplastic concentrations was observed in
To assure the control quality, control quality steps were set up based bays while higher range of concentrations was recorded in rivers
on the recommendations of Dehaut et al. (2019). To prevent micro­ (Fig. 5). Those surface freshwater environments tend to be more
plastic contamination, operators were always using cotton lab clothes polluted by microplastic than the surface marine environments.
and gloves, the water and NaCl solution were filtered before use on GF/A Compared to environments from countries listed as emitting the most
filters (porosity 1.6 μm) and kept in glass bottles, and all glassware were plastic to the ocean (Jambeck et al., 2015), the level of microplastic
rinsed with filtered water before being used. Due to tropical climate concentrations measured in Viet Nam are in the low range of the ones
conditions, fan was prohibited and air conditioning was used to main­ measured in China, Philippines and Indonesia (Alam et al., 2019; Cor­
tain cool temperature in the room and avoid dust settling. Specific dova et al., 2019; Esquinas et al., 2020; Fu and Wang, 2019; Zhang et al.,
control samples were established: (i) sieving atmospheric control (SAC) 2018). In China, an important research effort on microplastic have been
consisting on a filter places on the benchmarked and exposed to airborne made the past five years (Xu et al., 2020) but the lack of homogenized
contamination during digestion and sieving steps, (ii) observation at­ protocols for sampling, analyzing and observations induced difficulty to
mospheric control (OAC) consisting on a filter places on the benchmark compare the data, in term of size range and units. When focusing on
and exposed to airborne contamination during stereomicroscope studies with similar protocol and observation range as the present study,
observation, (iii) positive extraction control (PEC) consisting on spiked the level of concentrations measured in Chinese lakes (e.g. Di and Wang,
PE grinded beached yellow fish box (CRT 171, Carat GmbH) in the 2018; Wang et al., 2017), rivers (e.g. Lin et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2014)
original sample. and bays (e.g. Chen et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2019) were mostly higher
Observation of microplastics on controls evidenced that: SAC had a than those measured in Viet Nam.
mean value of 0.08 item (n = 12), and ranged from 0 to 1 item observed; Microplastics exhibited a wide variation of concentrations from 2.3
OAC had a mean value of 0.5 item (n = 15), and ranged from 0 to 3 items items m− 3 (Red River; HN-RR-W) to 2522 items m− 3 (To Lich River; HN-
observed; PEC had a mean value of 96% and ranged from 70% to 100%. TL-W), in which fibers were dominant over the other forms (Fig. 4). The
Because of the low SAC and OAC values and the high PEC, no corrections main Vietnamese rivers exhibited the lowest concentrations: 2.3 items

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E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Fig. 3. Protocol for sediment analysis for microplastic observations (the volume of reagents are adapted for 10 g of sample).

m− 3 in the Red River, 2.7 items m− 3 in the Han River (DN-HR-W) and area ranged from 76,487 μm2 (HN-RR-W) to 125,935 μm2 (DN-HR-W),
3.9 items m− 3 in the Dong Nai River (DN-HA-W) while the highest except a higher median area observed in the To Lich River (i.e. 279,086
concentrations were measured in urban and smaller rivers: 93.7 items μm2) (HN-TL-W), which may highlight a specific and localized source of
m− 3 in the Nhue River (HN-NR-W) and 2522 items m− 3 in the To Lich microplastics to this highly contaminated river.
River (HN-TL-R) (Fig. 4). Indeed, the To Lich River is known to be a The microplastic concentrations in lake and reservoir environments
highly polluted river in Viet Nam receiving huge amount of untreated varied from 1.5 items m− 3 in Tri An Reservoir (HN-TA-W) to 611 items
wastewaters (e.g. 1,200,000 m3 d− 1), especially domestic ones (Duong m− 3 in Ho Tay Lake (HN-HT-W) (Fig. 4). The lowest concentrations were
et al., 2012; MONRE, 2019). Knowing that the population density of the observed in the two sampled reservoirs, the Tri An reservoir, located on
neighborhood crossed by the river is of 2279 inhabitants km− 2 and that the Dong Nai River, and the Dau Tieng reservoir on the Sai Gon River
a washing machine can release up to 728,000 fibers from a 6 kg wash upstream HCMC, which are respectively the second and third biggest
load (Napper and Thompson, 2016), we can hypothesize that the direct reservoir in Viet Nam. Their water used for irrigation and domestic use,
release of domestic wastewaters coupled to the low water discharges of are thus of good quality (Ha et al., 2007; Strady et al., 2017), despite the
the river are responsible of the high concentration of microplastics occurrence of cyanobacteria in the Tri An Reservoir (Dao et al., 2016).
(especially fibers) observed in this river. Those reservoirs are few impacted by domestic, urban or industrial
Nevertheless, the microplastic concentrations measured in the discharges, only fisheries or aquaculture can be observed. Similar to
studied riverine environments were all lower than the ones previously riverine environment, fibers were also the predominant form in these
measured in the Sai Gon River and its urban canals, crossing Ho Chi reservoirs, which accounted more than 95% (Fig. 4). The fiber median
Minh City, the economic capital of Viet Nam (Lahens et al., 2018; Strady size lengths were in the same range than riverine environments with 846
et al., 2020). This river-estuarine system is largely impacted by textile and 760 μm in the Tri An and Dau Tieng Reservoirs respectively, while
and garment industry: tremendous concentrations of anthropogenic fi­ the fragment median area were slightly higher with 125,607 and
bers were measured from 22,000 to 251,000 fiber m− 3 for an observa­ 157,463 μm2 respectively (Fig. 6).
tion range of 40–5000 μm in bulk water sampling, which is equivalent to The urban lakes showed elevated microplastic concentrations
3960 to 45,180 fiber m− 3 for an observation size range of 300–5000 μm compared to reservoirs ranging from 70 items m− 3 in Cong Vien Lake
(i.e., 82% of fiber length measured between 40 and 300 μm) (Strady (DN-CV-W) to 611 items m− 3 in Ho Tay Lake (HN-HT-W) (Fig. 4). The
et al., 2020). The fragment concentrations measured in the Sai Gon River areas of the lakes do not seem to influence the microplastic concentra­
and the main canals ranged from 7 to 94 fragments m− 3 (e.g., for a tions in surface waters, the variables are not correlated (p value >0.1),
minimal area observation range of 45,000 μm2 (Lahens et al., 2018)) which is contradictory to observations made in mountain lakes in more
showing the extreme dominance of fibers over fragments in the system. remote areas (Free et al., 2014). Those urban lakes are all characterized
The morphology of microplastics was similar among the five studied by high urban and domestic pressure on their ecosystems, with direct
riverine environments (Fig. 6). The fiber median size length ranged from release of treated and untreated wastewaters. We rather suggest that the
761 μm (DN-HA-W) to 1121 μm (DN-HR-W) and the fragment median amount of wastewaters release, the quality of their treatment, and the

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E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Fig. 4. Concentrations of microplastics, fibers and fragments in surface waters and sediments. Proportion of fibers relative to fragments in surface waters
and sediments.

length ranged from 908 to 1894 μm and the median fragment area from
67,806 to 138,020 μm2 area (Fig. 6). At Hoa Phu Lake, the release of
leachate from the city landfill site might be responsible for microplastics
release in the lake’s water. The higher proportion of fragments relative
to fibers (42%, Fig. 4) associated to tall fibers and large fragments (1393
μm length and 138,020 μm2; Fig. 6), support the hypothesis of frag­
mentation processes of larger plastic items at the landfill station, fol­
lowed by fragment release in the leachates and wastewaters and by
fragment transport towards the lake (Horton et al., 2017).
In bays, microplastic concentrations varied from 0.4 items m− 3 in
Cua Luc bay (QN-CL-W) in Quang Ninh province to 28.4 items m− 3 in
the Dinh River estuary mouth (VT-DR-W) (Fig. 4). Fibers were also
dominating in lagoons and bays, excepting for Do Son Bay, Ha Long Bay,
Fig. 5. Range of microplastic concentrations measured in river (blue), lake
and Thi Nai Lagoon area near the Ha Thanh river mouth where the ratio
(red) and bay (green) environments. (For interpretation of the references to
of fibers and fragments were rather similar (Fig. 4). At the mouth of the
colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
Dinh River estuary, the high microplastic concentration was associated
this article.)
to high percentage of fibers with short median fiber length (e.g., 502 μm;
Fig. 6). This river is impacted by both untreated wastewaters release and
population density surrounding the lakes may affect the microplastic
fisheries activities. In Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, the low
concentrations in lakes surface waters. Differences of plastic
measured microplastic concentrations (e.g. 0.4, 0.7 and 0.8 items m− 3 in
morphology were also observed between the lakes: the median fiber

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E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

Fig. 6. Boxplot of length of fibers (in blue) and area of fragments (in orange) measured in surface waters and sediments. (For interpretation of the references to
colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Cua Luc (QN-CL-W), Do Son (HP-DS-W) and Ha Long Bays (QN-HL-W) W), and Quy Nhon Bay (BD-QN-W). This province is also characterized
respectively) were unexpected regarding the important aquaculture and by aquaculture activities, and reported 1221 small scale fish farming
touristic activity in this area. The touristic activity in the Ha Long Bay, a units in 2019 (DARD, 2020). Despite a lower aquaculture activity than
Unesco World Heritage Site, welcoming more than 10 million tourists in Quang Ninh, the microplastics concentrations were higher (Fig. 4).
per year, was often pointed out as an important source of marine plastic The Thi Nai lagoon is directly influenced by the Kon and Ha Thanh
litter to the surface waters. In 2019, the total Pacific oyster farming area, Rivers receiving untreated domestic and industrial waste waters from
consisting of hanging line system attached to a main line with EPS industrial zones, which could be responsible of main microplastic inputs
floating buoys, was estimated of about 3000 ha while the small-scale fish to the lagoon and bay, additionally to the fishery activities.
farming, consisting of bamboo or wood cages composed of net pen, This baseline study evidenced that the levels of microplastic con­
mooring system and EPS buoys or HDPE barrel to lift the whole system, centrations fluctuated spatially and within a type of environment.
was estimated of 12,888 units (DARD, 2020). We expected that the wear Microplastic concentrations appeared to be related to the surrounding
and tear of the barrel, buoy and net by wave, currents, salt and UV anthropogenic activities using plastic (fisheries, aquaculture, house­
irradiance action would have conducted to higher microplastic con­ holds, landfills, the urban pressure on the environment and the direct
centrations in the surface waters, as seen in China’s bays characterized release of wastewaters, treated or untreated). As stressed by Cera et al.
by intensive aquaculture activities (Chen et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2019) (2020), the setting up of an adapted and common methodology, per­
where microplastic concentrations were one to three order of magnitude formed by local researchers, is crucial for the understanding and the
higher that in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. The measured medians of local remediation of microplastic pollution. This study pointed out the
fragments area were elevated, especially in the Cua Luc Bay (e.g., influence of the sources to each environment and so investigation should
941,885 μm2; QN-CL-W; Fig. 6), and further investigations are thus be emphasized in a near future to qualify and quantify those sources on
required to identify the nature of those fragments and their possible the specific sites. The long term measurements of microplastic concen­
sources. We also assume that the selection of the location of the sites was trations on those environments under a monitoring program will allow
not adapted to evidence specifically the impact of aquaculture activities, to address the temporal variability, linked to the sources and seasonal
as the samples were taken relatively far from the farms. environmental change. Hydrological factors such as precipitation, water
In Binh Dinh province, microplastic concentrations were 3.2, 4.1 and discharge, evaporation could be thus considered to better understand
24.3 items m− 3 respectively in Thi Nai Lagoon (BD-TN1-W and BD-TN2- the temporal variability. In a policy perspective, this paper is the first

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E. Strady et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 162 (2021) 111870

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number 11/2020/TN and grant number 12/2019/TN, and of IMER- Microplastics in the Ocean (GESAMP Reports & Studies Series) (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-
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