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Determination of Microplastics in Sediments of the Mashcón River, Cajamarca - Perú 2023
Summary
Scientists tested riverbed sediment from Peru's Mashcón River and found 216 tiny plastic pieces (mostly blue and clear, smaller than a pencil eraser) across just 13 sampling spots. This matters because rivers like this often connect to drinking water sources and food systems, and microplastics that build up in the environment can eventually make their way into fish, crops, and ultimately our bodies, so widespread contamination like this is an early warning sign worth taking seriously.
The fundamental purpose of this research is to evaluate the amount of microplastics found in the sediments of the Mashcón River.For this, a methodology based on the difference in densities was implemented using calcium chloride solution (CaCl2) as a microplastic separation agent., for this, 13 sampling stations were identified (E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9, E10, E11, E12 and E13), for physical analysis, resulting in the stations with the greatest amount of microplastics E6 with 23MPs, E7 with 23MPs, E8 with 29MPs and E12 with 23MP, finding a total of 216 microplastics in the 13 m^2 * 20 cm depth of the study area, according to standardized procedures and the predominant color applied found was blue and transparent, according to its size classification 1mm-5mm.Based on the findings and analyzes carried out, it can be concluded that the Mashcón River is contaminated by microplastics.This presence represents a silent threat to the life of this important river, highlighting the urgent need to address and mitigate the effects of microplastic pollution in this aquatic ecosystem.