Abstract
The distribution and abundance of plastic litter, especially resin pellets, were investigated. Resin pellets are widespread in the coastal waters and beaches of Japan. Such pellets that are the raw materials of plastic products are important marine pollutants for many species of marine life such as ingestion by seabirds and fishes. In this report, organic pollutants in resin pellets collected from beaches and coastal waters were analyzed. NP (nonylphenol), PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), and DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) were identified by GC/MS measurement. Their concentrations in 1 g of pellet sample (polypropylene and polyethylene) were as follows: NP (130-25,000 ng), PCB (5-120 ng), and DDE (0.2-3.1 ng). GC/MS analysis of resin pellets suggests that these pollutants were derived from the ambient seawater.
