Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road 3, 712100 Yangling, China.
College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road 3, 712100 Yangling, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 15;817:153006. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153006. Epub 2022 Jan 10.
Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the aquatic environment raises considerable concerns. Freshwater system is generally considered as an important source for MPs transformation into the marine environment, however, only limited data on the MPs pollution in global freshwater systems is available at this time. In this study, we explored the abundance, characteristics and distribution of microplastics in the Scheldt River. The investigation results indicated that the abundance of microplastics in sediments (15-413 items/kg dry weight (DW)) was much higher than that in surface water (0-113 items/m), and small size MPs (less than 500 μm) frequently appeared in sediments. Industrial activities were regarded as the major cause of MP discharging. Risk assessment models with using data of the concentration of MPs, polymer types and toxicity of MPs exposure were developed to assess the risk of MPs pollution in both surface water and sediment of the Westerscheldt estuary. Risk assessment results revealed that MPs exposure have potentially adverse effects on the aquatic ecosystem and human health. MPs tend to be transported from "Hotspots", such as urban or industries area, to remote areas. The risk assessment of MPs serves as a baseline for better understanding the distribution and characteristics of MPs and highlights the need of intensively monitoring to limit MPs release by intensively monitoring. This research provides a perspective on the risk of MPs that could be used in future studies.
微塑料（MPs）污染对水生环境造成了极大的关注。淡水系统通常被认为是 MPs 向海洋环境转化的一个重要来源，但目前全球淡水系统中 MPs 污染的数据非常有限。本研究探讨了 Scheldt 河微塑料的丰度、特征和分布。调查结果表明，沉积物中微塑料的丰度（15-413 个/千克干重（DW））远高于地表水（0-113 个/米），小尺寸 MPs（小于 500μm）在沉积物中频繁出现。工业活动被认为是 MPs 排放的主要原因。利用 MPs 浓度、聚合物类型和 MPs 暴露毒性的数据，开发了风险评估模型，以评估 Westerscheldt 河口地表水和沉积物中 MPs 污染的风险。风险评估结果表明， MPs 暴露对水生生态系统和人类健康可能有潜在的不利影响。 MPs 倾向于从“热点”（如城市或工业区域）向偏远地区迁移。 MPs 的风险评估为更好地了解 MPs 的分布和特征提供了一个视角，并强调需要通过强化监测来限制 MPs 的释放。本研究为 MPs 的风险评估提供了一个视角，可用于未来的研究。
