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Distribution of microplastics in water and sediment of Negro River and Peñol-Guatapé reservoir, Colombia
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Scientists found tiny plastic bits (mostly small blue and clear fibers) in both the water and riverbed of a Colombian river and reservoir, with more showing up during rainy seasons when heavy flows wash plastic downstream. This matters because these waterways likely feed into drinking water systems or local ecosystems, meaning the plastics, and whatever chemicals they carry, could eventually make their way into the food and water people rely on.
The generation of microplastics (MPs, ≤5 mm) has become a pollution problem in rivers worldwide. Plastic debris can be transported through the water or trapped in the sediment in different proportions between rivers and reservoirs. The purpose of this study was to analyse the spatial and temporal pattern of contamination by MPs in water and sediment in the Negro River and Peñol-Guatapé Resevoir. Two samplings at 5 sites were conducted: 1 in the transition from the dry to rainy season and 1 in the rainy season. Three replicates of each sample (water, sediment) were taken, including physicochemical parameters. The density in water ranged from 350 to 789 MPs/m3, and in sediment from 8 to 194 MPs/kg. The primary forms of MPs were small blue and colourless fibres. The type of polymer corresponding to each plastic particle was identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The polymers identified were polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polypyrrole, and poly (1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-2-dim ethyl aminoethyl methacrylate), and evidence of MP contamination in water and sediment was found at all sites. A seasonal effect was observed in the concentration of MPs. The incremental distribution along the river continuum suggests a significant drag and resuspension effect favoured by high flows, which reduced retention in the reservoir. This work provides a reference for understanding the dynamics of MP pollution in tropical Andean reservoirs.
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Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in reservoirs — a major source of drinking water — examining how plastics enter and accumulate in these water bodies and what extraction and identification methods are most effective for monitoring plastic pollution at the water supply level.
Understanding Microplastic Pollution in Riverbed Sediments: Special Emphasis on a Medium-Sized City in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
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Sediment samples from an urban stream in Rio Claro, Brazil showed microplastic concentrations up to 18,000 units per kilogram — among the highest reported in Brazil — with fibers and tire wear particles as the dominant types, driven by untreated sewage and stormwater runoff. The extreme pollution levels in a mid-sized city highlight that microplastic contamination is not confined to megacities, posing risks to water quality in smaller urban centers.
A Tri-Medium Perspective on Microplastic Pollution in a Tropical Riverine Ecosystem: Insights from Water, Sediments and Bivalve Clam Shells in Pamba River
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Researchers surveyed microplastics across water, sediment, and clam tissues in Kerala's Pamba River, finding contamination escalating downstream with polyethylene fibers dominant across all compartments, and estimating that humans who regularly consume local clams ingest roughly 0.128 microplastic particles per gram of body weight annually.
Evaluation of Microplastic Pollution in Gills of Freshwater Fish in a Neotropical Hydrographic Basin, Brazil
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Analysis of gill tissue from 98 freshwater fish across eight species in Brazil's Sorocaba River basin found microplastics in every individual, with fibers comprising 74% of the 385 particles detected and highest contamination in the most disturbed river. The universal gill contamination across species demonstrates that freshwater fish in human-impacted watersheds serve as a direct route for microplastic entry into aquatic food webs and ultimately human diets.
Water and sediment microplastic dynamics in African inland freshwater systems: a review
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This review pulled together 41 studies to show that Africa's rivers and lakes are widely contaminated with microplastics, tiny plastic fragments and fibers, with even higher levels showing up in sediment (the mud and sand at the bottom) than in the water itself, especially during rainy seasons. Since these freshwater sources are often used for drinking water and fishing, this contamination matters because we still don't fully know how ingesting these particles over time affects human health, making this an area that urgently needs more research and better plastic waste management.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.