School of Geography, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK; Food, Water, Waste Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
Environ Pollut. 2020 Aug;263(Pt B):114481. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114481. Epub 2020 Apr 2.
Plastic pollution represents one of the most salient indicators of society's impact on the environment. The microplastic component of this is ubiquitous, however, microplastic studies are seldom representative of the locations they sample. Over 12 months we explored spatiotemporal variation in microplastic prevalence across a freshwater system and in atmospheric deposition within its catchment, in one of the most temporally comprehensive studies of microplastic pollution. Microplastics were quantified in low concentrations (max 0.4 particles L) at all freshwater sites, including upstream of urban areas, and on rivers that do not receive wastewater treatment plant effluent. Extrapolated microplastic abundances at each site varied by up to 8 orders of magnitude over the course of the sampling campaign, suggesting that microplastic surveys that do not account for temporal variability misrepresent microplastic prevalence. Whilst we do not wish to underplay the potential impacts of microplastic particles in the environment, we argue that microplastic pollution needs to be placed in a more critical context, including assessment of temporal variability, to appropriately inform legislators and consumers.
塑料污染是社会对环境影响的最显著指标之一。其中微塑料的成分无处不在，然而，微塑料的研究很少能代表它们所采样的地点。在 12 个月的时间里，我们在一个时间跨度最长的微塑料污染研究中，探索了淡水系统中微塑料流行率的时空变化以及集水区内的大气沉积。在所有淡水点，包括城市上游地区和没有接受污水处理厂废水的河流中，微塑料的浓度都很低（最高 0.4 个颗粒/L）。在整个采样过程中，每个地点的微塑料丰度的推断值相差高达 8 个数量级，这表明不考虑时间变化的微塑料调查会对微塑料的流行率产生误判。虽然我们不想低估环境中微塑料颗粒的潜在影响，但我们认为，需要将微塑料污染置于更具批判性的背景下，包括对时间变化的评估，以便为立法者和消费者提供适当的信息。
