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Currently, plastic pollutants in the aquatic environment have received much attention. The studies on the abundance of microplastics in the river system are consequently lower compared to the studies on the marine system. The study aimed to determine the abundance of microplastics in water and riverbank sediments of Miri River and classify their spatial distribution patterns. In this study, water and sediment samples were collected from five sampling points in Miri River to investigate the abundance and distribution of microplastics as well as the characteristics of microplastics in Miri River. The abundance of microplastics in water samples was within the range of 0.8 to 2.1 mg/L or 10.7 to 14.3 particle /L. In sediment samples, the abundance of microplastics was within the range of 26.2 to 62.5 mg/kg or 283.7 to 456.2 particle/kg. The main type of microplastics detected in both water and sediment samples was fragment type with proportions of 57.3% and 57.9%, respectively. The most abundance particle size of microplastics was size of less than 1 mm. Colored microplastics such as black and blue were mainly found in both water samples and sediment samples. The polymer types were identified using FTIR which were polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, ethylene propylene diene monomer, Butyl-Branham, and ethylene vinyl acetate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baram River is one of the largest rivers in Sarawak, where many large industries, such as plywood, sawmills, shipyards, interisland ports, and other wood-based industries are located along the river. Microplastic contamination has become a widespread and growing concern worldwide because of the small sizes of microplastics and their presence in seafood such as fish, squid, scallop, crabs, shrimp, and mussels. In this study, microplastics were found in all sampling stations. Out of the 4017 microplastics found in the water and sediment, microplastics fragment accounted for 67.8% of total microplastics, followed by fiber, film, pellet, and foam. Five microplastic polymer types were detected by ATR-FTIR, including polyethylene (PE), polyester (PET) fibers, silicon polymer, nitrile, and polystyrene (PS). The most common microplastics size range in Baram River was 0.3–1 mm, with blue as the highly abundant color. • The research aimed to study the abundance and distribution of microplastic in Baram estuaries. • Microplastics were found in all sampling stations. • Five microplastic polymer types were detected by ATR-FTIR. • The most common size of microplastic was 0.3-1 mm with blue as the highest abundance color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]