Occurrence and distribution of micro- and mesoplastics in the high-latitude nature reserve, northern China

doi:10.1007/s11783-022-1534-7

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (9) : 113 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1534-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Occurrence and distribution of micro- and mesoplastics in the high-latitude nature reserve, northern China

Wenwen Gong^1,², Yu Xing^1,², Lihua Han^1,², Anxiang Lu^1,², Han Qu³, Li Xu^1,²(

)

¹. Beijing Research Center for Agricultural Standards and Testing, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, China
². Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Agriculture Environment Monitoring, Beijing 100097, China
³. Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721, USA

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Abstract

• The first study on micro(meso)plastics (MMPs) in the Liaohe River Reserve is reported.

• Diverse MMP were detected in surface water and sediment at all 32 sites.

• The abundance of MMPs decreased in the course of the river.

• The MMPs abundance in water is significant association with the county population.

Microplastics pollution has received growing attention worldwide in recent years. However, data on microplastics in the freshwater environment are still limited, especially in high-latitude nature reserves in Northern China. The first study on microplastic pollution in the Liaohe River Reserve in Northern China is reported here, and mesoplastics were also incorporated. Surface water and sediment samples were collected from 32 sites along the nature reserve. The abundance, type, shape, color, and size of micro- and mesoplastics were measured using density extraction, optical microscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. The data showed that diverse micro- and mesoplastics were found widespread in the 32 sites, and the average abundance of these plastics was 0.11±0.04 10⁻² items/L in surface water and 62.29±54.30 items/kg in sediment. Moreover, 70% and 66% were smaller than 2000 μm in surface water and sediment, respectively. Fiber accounted for 91.86% in surface water and 43.48% in sediment, indicating that the major source of micro- and mesoplastics in the Liaohe River Reserve may be domestic sewage and aquaculture. A total of 16 and 27 polymers were identified in surface water and sediment, respectively, and mostly consisted of rayon, polyester, polystyrene, and poly(ethylene terephthalate). Moreover, both the risk index and the pollution load index demonstrated a low risk of micro- and mesoplastics in surface water and sediment in the Liaohe River Reserve.

Keywords Microplastics Mesoplastics Water Sediment Characteristic Risk Assessment

Corresponding Author(s): Li Xu

About author:

Tongcan Cui and Yizhe Hou contributed equally to this work.

Issue Date: 14 January 2022

Cite this article:

Wenwen Gong,Yu Xing,Lihua Han, et al. Occurrence and distribution of micro- and mesoplastics in the high-latitude nature reserve, northern China[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(9): 113.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-022-1534-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I9/113

Fig.1 Sampling sites in the Liaohe River Reserve (sites L1–L15 are located in the upstream region from Tieling City; sites L16–L26 are located in the midstream region from Shenyang City; sites L27–L32 are located in the downstream region from Anshan and Panjin City).

Fig.2 Abundance and distribution of micro(meso)plastics in surface water (a) and sediment (b).

Fig.3 Percentage of micro(meso)plastics in surface water and sediment (a) shape in water; (b) shape in sediment; (c) size in water; (d) size in sediment; (e) color in water; (f) color in sediment).

Fig.4 Size frequency and typology of the different micro(meso)plastics in water (a) and sediment (b) as an average of all sampling sites.

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