Macroplastic and microplastic contamination assessment of a tropical river (Saigon River, Vietnam) transversed by a developing megacity

Author: Lisa Lahens, Emilie Strady, Thuy-ChungKieu-Le, Rachid Dris, Kada Boukermae, Emmanuel Rinnert, Johnny Gasperi and Bruno Tassin
Year of Publication: 2018
Published: Environmental Pollution 236: 661–671

Abstract:
Both macroplastic and microplastic contamination levels were assessed for the first time in a tropical river estuary system, i.e. the Saigon River, that traverses a developing South East Asian megacity, i.e. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The analysis of floating debris collected daily on the Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe canal by the municipal waste management service shows that the plastic mass percentage represents 11–43%, and the land-based plastic debris entering the river was estimated from 0.96 to 19.91 g inhabitant−1 d−1, namely 350 to 7270 g inhabitant−1 yr−1. Microplastics were assessed in the Saigon River and in four urban canals by sampling bulk water for anthropogenic fiber analysis and 300 μm mesh size plankton net exposition for fragment analysis. Fibers and fragments are highly concentrated in this system, respectively 172,000 to 519,000 items m−3 and 10 to 223 items m−3. They were found in various colors and shapes with smallest size and surface classes being predominant. The macroplastics and fragments were mainly made of polyethylene and polypropylene while the anthropogenic fibers were mainly made of polyester. The relation between macroplastic and microplastic concentrations, waste management, population density and water treatment are further discussed.

Keywords:
Microplastic, Macroplastic, Urban river, Contamination, Anthropogenic fibers

Citation:
Lahens, L., Strady, E., Kieu-Le, T.-C., Dris, R.,  Boukerma, K., Rinnert, E., Gasperi, J., Tassin, B., 2018. Macroplastic and microplastic contamination assessment of a tropical river (Saigon River, Vietnam) transversed by a developing megacity. Environmental Pollution 236: 661–671.

Link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117330579

Occurrence and concentrations of microplastics in an urban river

Author: Claudia Campanale, Carmine Maddarelli, Giuseppe Bagnuolo, Vito Felice Uricchio
Year of Publication: 2018
Published: SETAC Europe 28th Annual Meeting

Abstract:
The term ‘microplastics’ was first used in 2004 to describe very small fragments of plastic (~ 50 m³) in the water column and in sediments. In 2009, Arthur et al. proposed that microplastics should include all fragments < 5 mm. Over the past decade, microplastic debris in both marine and freshwater systems has become an emerging environmental issue. Although 70 – 95 % of the marine litter, including microplastics, come from land environment, studies of microplastics in freshwater systems are limited respect to those focused on marine habitats. Rivers and inland waters may transport microplastics to marine habitats and may be a novel vector for the downstream transport of organic persistent pollutants suggesting an overlooked and potentially significant component of the global microplastic life cycle. Herein we report results from a monitoring study with the main objective of evaluate the occurrence and concentration of microplastics in an italian urban river and assess the hypotheses that microplastics amount could vary in response to temporal and seasonal trends. In order to monitor the trend of microplastic concentrations, two seasonal sampling campaigns have been planned (February and April 2017).

Occurrence and concentrations of microplastics in an urban river
Occurrence and concentrations of microplastics in an urban river

Superficial waters samples were collected with three surface plankton nets fixed in the middle of the river simultaneously for two different time slot (11:00-13:00 and 13:00-15:00) for a total of six replicates for each campaign. After sample extraction and purification, validation of visually based microplastics identification was achieved using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Pyrolysis GCMS). The composition of microplastic was studied in term of size, shape, color and polymer type. Results from the six replicates are expressed as mean values (± DEV. ST.) of number of particles per cubic meter (p/m³). Microplastics were found in each net sample for a total amount of 22152 items collected, photographed, enumerated and categorized. Sample concentrations ranged from 3.52 to 13.43 p/m³ showing significantly higher abundances during February than April campaign (Mann?Whitney U Test = 18.00; p-value = 0.028). A total of five polymer have been characterized: PE, PP, PS, PVC and TDI-PUR. All samples contained at least three polymer types: PE, PP and PS. PE accounted for 77% of the total particles identified, followed by PS (12%), PP(10%), PVC (0.9%) and PU (0.4%).

Citation:
SETAC Europe 28th Annual Meeting, May 2018

Keywords:
Microplastics, occurrence, concentration, urban river, Italy

Campanale_SETAC2018

European conference on plastics in freshwater environments

Author: Beate Bänsch-Baltruschat, Nicole Brennholt, Christian Kochleus, Georg Reifferscheid & Jan Koschorreck
Year of Publication: 2017
Published: UBA-DOKUMENTATION 05/2017

Abstract:
In 2016 the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) organised a conference on plastics in freshwater environments on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). 220 attendants from 20 European and two non-European countries attended the conference. The objective was to exchange knowledge on plastics in European freshwater environments and to discuss its environmental and societal implications. In preparation of the conference an informal questionnaire was sent to water management agencies in Europe with questions on monitoring, risk awareness and management options. The results of this survey are presented in this issue paper.

Keywords:
Microplastics, occurrence, concentration, urban river, Italy

Citation:
Beate Bänsch-Baltruschat, Nicole Brennholt, Christian Kochleus, Georg Reifferscheid & Jan Koschorreck (2017): European conference on plastics in freshwater environments. UBA-DOKUMENTATION 05/2017.

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publikationen/conference-on-plastics-in-freshwater-environments