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On microplastics abundance in waters of Guizhou, China
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Microplastics were detected in all water sources sampled across Guizhou, southwestern China — rivers, lakes, streams, tap water, and bottled water — with open-water sources showing significantly higher concentrations than bottled water, and particles under 20 µm comprising more than 50% of samples. The pervasive presence of microplastics in both tap and bottled water in a remote, lower-income region confirms that no water source is uncontaminated and that human ingestion through drinking water is effectively universal.
Microplastics (MPs) have been widely detected in marine environments, yet the pollution in terrestrial fresh waters in economically underdeveloped and remote areas is poorly understood. We investigated the abundance and distribution of MPs in inland waters (including open waters in river, lake, reservoir, stream, and tap water and bottled water) in Guizhou, SW China, detected by Nile Red staining. Results show that MPs were detected in all samples, with the mean abundance of 3.5±1.9 items/mL in 34 river water samples, 3.9±1.9 items/mL in 14 lake and reservoir water samples, 3.4±2.4 items/mL in 87 stream water samples, 3.8±3.8 items/mL in 164 tap water samples, and 1.3±3.2 items/mL in 12 bottled water samples from 4 different brands. The MP abundance in open field waters (3.6±3.0 items/mL) was significantly higher than that in bottled water (1.3±3.2 items/mL) (P<0.05). The microplastics with particle sizes of 10–20 µm accounted for more than 50% of all samples. The composition ratio of small-and medium-sized microplastics in open waters was higher than in tap and bottled water (P<0.05). The MPs abundance tended to increase with the decrease in particle size. Therefore, microplastic pollution varied in different degrees in open waters in economically underdeveloped and remote areas of the southwestern China, which is consistent with microplastic pollution in other similar water environments. This study provided a reference for understanding the microplastic content and pollution control in the inland waters in western and remote areas of China.
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