ASHENEWS reports that a new JWO research project is set to unveil the result of the impacts of widespread plastic pollution in Africa.
This platform further reports that the research, led by a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Dr. Gideon Idowu, commenced two years ago.
The research team investigated microplastics and associated endocrine-disrupting contaminants in 19 marine and freshwater environments across the African continent.
The team in the study, published by Elsevier’s Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, shared specific results from their work on the Osun River in Nigeria.
They investigated the incidence and abundance of microplastics in the water, sediments below the river water, in fish species from the river, and found disturbing levels of micro-(tiny) -plastics in all the matrices investigated.
“Abundance of microplastics in the river water samples, at a maximum of 22,079 particles/litre, represents the highest reported so far for river water globally. Microplastics ranged from 407 to 1691.7 particles in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) of six fish species analysed, with silver catfish (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus) having the highest concentration. Levels in the fishes are higher than those reported for fishes in Asia and Europe, but similar to some other plastic pollution hotspots in Africa,” the study reads in parts.
Speaking on the results, Dr. Idowu said “the Osun River is important for very many reasons – religious worship, domestic water supply, provision of fish resources, and so on. Our findings imply that people using the water may be exposed to high levels of microplastics, just as people using other polluted Rivers in Nigeria.
“The fishes caught from the Osun River are also sold directly to the public, which implies another route of human exposure to microplastics.
“We simply need to rethink the way we use and manage plastics across Africa. The majority of the plastics responsible for these effects are use-and-throw-away (Single-use) ones. We can do away with many of them.”
According to the published article, the uncontrolled and indiscriminate disposal of single-use plastics is a key factor in the level of microplastic pollution observed at the Osun River.
The team emphasized the need by Nigerian government to ban certain single-use plastics, as a step towards reducing plastic pollution of the Nigerian rivers, which shelter important aquatic resources and provide water for human use.
Dr. Idowu, a FUTA alumnus and multi-award winning academic, noted that a policy to ban many single-use plastics is already being considered by the federal government.
“That’s the way to go. Every nation that has made significant progress in reducing plastic pollution and its impacts on their surrounding environment has had to ban one form of plastic or the other. There are many of them that we can do away with.
“The Lagos state government has recently taken that bold step; we need to do the same at the Federal level, in line with the Blue (Marine) Economy Agenda of the new government. Aside from this, we need to develop a vibrant plastics recycling industry to manage those plastics that we want to retain”.
Dr. Idowu was awarded the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer (JWO) grant in late 2021, to lead the research project, which now involves over 20 Scientists in nine African Universities.
Other ongoing works include the modelling of future levels of microplastics in African countries, as well as quantifying health risks that may be associated with human exposure to microplastics and related substances.
This ongoing research is another testimonial to FUTA, as a leading research-intensive University.
The newly published article can be accessed for free here: (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazadv.2024.100409).
