We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
210Pb chronology assessing the historical microplastics dynamics and aging effects in urban areas with separate sewer systems and multiple-use reservoir
AI summary Read the abstract
By examining sediment cores dated using radioactive lead (Pb-210), researchers reconstructed decades of microplastic accumulation history in an urban Brazilian river basin. The record showed that microplastic levels dropped after wastewater treatment plants were built after 2006 — but tire wear particle concentrations kept rising as vehicle numbers grew, reaching extremely high levels. The study demonstrates that different types of microplastics have different pollution drivers, and that improving sewage treatment alone is insufficient to address the full scope of plastic contamination in urban waterways.
This study uses the Pb chronology to assess the historical dynamics and aging effects of microplastics (MPs) in urban areas with separate sewer systems and multiple-use reservoir for the first time, reconstructing their temporal deposition over multiple decades. The Sorocaba River basin, state of São Paulo, Brazil, was chosen as study area. Direct release of untreated urban sewage and stormwater runoff was the main source of MPs in riverbed sediments before 2006. The construction of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) post-2006 led to a decrease in fibres, films, fragments, and pellets. Despite the new WWTPs, the levels of tyre wear particles continued to rise, reaching ∼ 85,000 units/kg at SP4 in 2011, due to an increase of vehicle numbers circulating in impervious surfaces in the cities of this watershed. However, the total of MPs decreased along the multiple-use reservoir, from ∼ 43,000 to ∼ 6300 units/kg at SP1 and SP3, respectively. Using pollution load index, nearly all sediment cores were classified to have extremely high pollution levels. Combining Pb chronology and sediment pollution of MPs has been useful in exposing historical deposition patterns of MPs in urban areas and multiple-use reservoir environments and relating them to interventions made to mitigate pollution.
More Papers Like This
210Pb chronology in sediment cores evidencing the historical pollution of microplastics in reservoirs in the São Paulo State, Brazil
AI summary Read the abstract
Using radioactive lead dating of sediment cores, researchers traced a 50-year history of microplastic accumulation in São Paulo reservoirs, showing contamination increased sharply after the 1970s as plastic production scaled up.
Pb-210 geochronology applied to the historical reconstruction of microplastic pollution in fluvial sediments and interpretative analysis of its occurrences in the Corumbataí river basin, São Paulo
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers applied Pb-210 radiometric dating to sediment cores from the Corumbatai river basin in Sao Paulo, Brazil to reconstruct the historical deposition of microplastics in fluvial sediments, quantifying and characterizing plastic particles across four sediment profiles to link contamination timing to regional urban, industrial, and agricultural activities.
Harmonized efforts for the assessment of microplastic contamination trends using 210Pb dated sediment cores from an urbanized coastal lagoon (NW Mexico)
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers analyzed microplastics in lead-210 dated sediment cores from a coastal lagoon in northwest Mexico to reconstruct historical pollution trends going back decades. Microplastic concentrations began rising in the 1970s and have increased exponentially in recent decades, closely tracking regional urbanization and plastic production growth.
Accelerating microplastic contamination in 210Pb dated sediment cores from an urbanized coastal lagoon (NW Mexico) since the 1990s
AI summary Read the abstract
Using lead-210 dating of sediment cores, researchers tracked microplastic accumulation over the past century in a coastal lagoon in northwestern Mexico. They found that microplastic levels have increased dramatically since the 1990s, closely following the global rise in plastic production. This historical record shows that microplastic pollution in coastal waters used for fishing and recreation has been accelerating for decades.
Time-varying microplastic contributions of a large urban and industrial area to river sediments
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers analyzed dated sediment cores from upstream and downstream of a large city to track microplastic pollution trends from the 1980s to 2021. They found that downstream contamination was roughly ten times higher than upstream, but that industrial-source plastics showed a relative decline since the 2000s. The study provides rare long-term historical data suggesting that some pollution reduction policies may be having a measurable effect.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.