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Change of perspective through quality assurance measures on microplastic particle counts in surface waters of the Rhine River - Importance of LOD and LOQ
Summary
Researchers surveyed the entire 1,233-km length of the Rhine River for micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing that proper quality assurance measures — including defined limits of detection and quantification — are essential for producing reliable and comparable plastic pollution data.
Abstract The issues surrounding micro- and nanoplastics (MPs and NPs) are gaining importance as the knowledge about their distribution and impacts on the environment and human health grows. In order to gain a better understanding about the occurrence of those plastic particles and the pollution of different freshwater systems, the project, “Rheines Wasser” were conducted. This project investigated the entire 1,232.7 km-length of Europe’s Rhine River, which serves an important function for both transportation and water supply for several million people. Surface water samples of the river were filtered and the microplastic (MP) particles were detected by Fourier transform infrared microscopy. At several sample stations, different concentrations of MP-particles were found, ranging from 5 to 5326 particles/m 3 .
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