Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada.
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada.
Environ Pollut. 2015 Sep;204:17-25. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.04.009. Epub 2015 Apr 18.
Microplastics are a source of environmental pollution resulting from degradation of plastic products and spillage of resin pellets. We report the amounts of microplastics from various sites of Lake Ontario and evaluate their potential for preservation in the sediment record. A total of 4635 pellets were sampled from the Humber Bay shoreline on three sampling dates. Pellet colours were similar to those from the Humber River bank, suggesting that the river is a pathway for plastics transport into Lake Ontario. Once in the lake, high density microplastics, including mineral-polyethylene and mineral-polypropylene mixtures, sink to the bottom. The minerals may be fillers that were combined with plastics during production, or may have adsorbed to the surfaces of the polymers in the water column or on the lake bottom. Based on sediment depths and accumulation rates, microplastics have accumulated in the offshore region for less than 38 years. Their burial increases the chance of microplastics preservation. Shoreline pellets may not be preserved because they are mingled with organic debris that is reworked during storm events.
微塑料是塑料产品降解和树脂颗粒泄漏造成的环境污染的来源。我们报告了安大略湖不同地点的微塑料数量，并评估了它们在沉积物记录中保存的潜力。在三个采样日期，从亨伯湾岸边共采集了 4635 个颗粒。颗粒的颜色与亨伯河岸边的颜色相似，表明这条河是塑料进入安大略湖的途径。一旦进入湖中，高密度的微塑料，包括矿物-聚乙烯和矿物-聚丙烯混合物，下沉到底部。这些矿物质可能是在生产过程中与塑料结合的填充物，也可能是在水柱或湖底吸附在聚合物表面上的。根据沉积深度和积累率，微塑料在近海地区的积累时间不到 38 年。它们的埋藏增加了微塑料保存的机会。由于岸边的颗粒与在风暴事件中重新加工的有机碎片混合在一起，因此可能无法保存。
