Accumulation of floating microplastics behind the Three Gorges Dam

Zhang, Kai; Wen, Guang; Lv, Jizhong; Xiong, Xiong; Wu, Chenxi

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.04.023

Cited by 429 publications

(162 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…These studies suggest inland waters are facing similar microplastic accumulation problems as found in the oceans [22,23]. Many inland waters are habitats for aquatic species that have important ecological and economic value and provide services for recreation, aquatic products, and water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

Zhang

Xiong

2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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The presence of microplastics in marine environment is increasingly reported and has been recognized as an issue of emerging concern that might adversely affect wildlife and cause potential risk to the health of marine ecosystems. In addition, preliminary works demonstrated that microplastics are ubiquitously present in many inland waters with concentrations comparable or higher than those observed in marine environments. Asia is the most populous continent in the world, and most Asian countries are under rapid development while facing serious environmental problems. In this chapter, we review the available literature reporting on the occurrence of microplastics in inland waters in Asia. Limited works have provided basic information on the occurrence, distribution, and properties of microplastics in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries in Asia. Comparison with data from other regions worldwide suggests that microplastic pollution in inland waters in Asia can be more serious. These preliminary results call for more research efforts to better characterize the sources, fate, effects, and risks of microplastics in inland waters. Extensive and in-depth studies are urgently needed to bridge the knowledge gaps to enable a more comprehensive risk assessment of microplastics in inland waters and to support the development of policy addressing this issue.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

Zhang

Xiong

2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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“…All standards were prepared in methanol at 100 mg/L, and diluted to the desired concentrations before use. Polyethylene (PE), which was one of the most abundant plastic types observed in the environment (Klein et al 2015;Zhang et al 2015), was selected for the examination. Plastic resin pellets of low density PE (0.93 g/mL) were obtained from Sinopec (Beijing, China).…”

Section: Materials and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products to polyethylene debris

Zhang

Huang

et al. 2016

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Presence of plastic debris in marine and freshwater ecosystems is increasingly reported. Previous research suggested plastic debris had a strong affiliation for many pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals. In this study, the sorption behavior of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), including carbamazepine (CBZ), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC), triclosan (TCS), and 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), to polyethylene (PE) debris (250 to 280 μm) was investigated. The estimated linear sorption coefficients (K d ) are 191.4, 311.5, 5140, and 53,225 L/kg for CBZ, EE2, TCS, and 4MBC, and are related to their hydrophobicities. Increase of salinity from 0.05 to 3.5 % did not affect the sorption of 4MBC, CBZ, and EE2 but enhanced the sorption of TCS, likely due to the salting-out effect. Increase of dissolved organic matter (DOM) content using Aldrich humic acid (HA) as a proxy reduced the sorption of 4MBC, EE2, and TCS, all of which show a relatively strong affiliation to HA. Results from this work suggest that microplastics may play an important role in the fate and transport of PPCPs, especially for those hydrophobic ones.

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“…In river shore sediments the number of particles ranged from 228 to 3,763 and 786 to 1,368 particles kg À1 along the rivers Rhine and Main (Germany), respectively [19]. High surface water concentrations are reported at the Three Gorges Dam, China (192-13,617 particles km À2 ), which are attributed to a lack of wastewater treatment facilities in smaller towns, as well as infrastructure issues when dealing with recycling and waste disposal [14]. These studies may underestimate the actual MP concentrations because their separation and identification are based on visual observation methods (e.g.…”

Section: Occurrence In Freshwater Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monitoring studies have quantified microscopic plastics debris, so-called microplastics (MPs), in freshwater systems, including riverine beaches, surface waters and sediments of rivers, lake, and reservoirs [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Although far less data is available compared to marine systems, these studies highlight that MP is ubiquitous and concentrations are comparable [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics Are Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Freshwater Environments: An Overview

Lambert

Wagner

2017

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

226

137

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In recent years, interest in the environmental occurrence and effects of microplastics (MPs) has shifted towards our inland waters, and in this chapter we provide an overview of the issues that may be of concern for freshwater environments. The term 'contaminant of emerging concern' does not only apply to chemical pollutants but to MPs as well because it has been detected ubiquitously in freshwater systems. The environmental release of MPs will occur from a wide variety of sources, including emissions from wastewater treatment plants and from the degradation of larger plastic debris items. Due to the chemical makeup of plastic materials, receiving environments are potentially exposed to a mixture of microand nano-sized particles, leached additives, and subsequent degradation products, which will become bioavailable for a range of biota. The ingestion of MPs by aquatic organisms has been demonstrated, but the long-term effects of continuous exposures are less well understood. Technological developments and changes in demographics will influence the types of MPs and environmental concentrations in the future, and it will be important to develop approaches to mitigate the input of synthetic polymers to freshwater ecosystems.

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Accumulation of floating microplastics behind the Three Gorges Dam

Cited by 429 publications

References 31 publications

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

Microplastic Pollution in Inland Waters Focusing on Asia

Sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products to polyethylene debris

Microplastics Are Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Freshwater Environments: An Overview

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