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Microplastics Pollution and Risk Assessment in Selected Surface Waters of the Wei River Plain, China
Summary
Surface water sampling across the Wei River Plain in northwest China found microplastic concentrations of 4.67 to 12.3 particles per liter, with PE fibers under 0.5 mm dominating, and risk index analysis classifying contamination levels as high throughout the study area. These findings extend evidence of widespread inland microplastic pollution into a relatively understudied region of China, emphasizing the need for regulatory controls on plastic waste in agricultural and semi-arid watersheds.
Currently, microplastics pollution has become an increasingly serious environmental problem attracting the attention of researchers. However, research of microplastics contamination in inland surface waters in northwest China is limited. In this study, the amounts and distribution of microplastics were detected in the selected surface water bodies of the Wei River Plain. The pollution risk of microplastics in this study area was also analyzed based on the calculated risk index values. The results indicated that the number ranges of microplastics were 4.67–12.3 items/L in collected samples. Fiber was the primary microplastics shape, the plastic particles with a size < 0.5 mm were dominant, and the polyethylene (PE) polymer was the major polymer of microplastics in collected water samples. The results of pollution risk assessment revealed that the pollution risk of microplastics was at a high pollution level in the study area and necessary actions were required to reduce the risk. The study may provide potential information for understanding the source, pollution, and ecological risk assessment of microplasitcs, benefiting the effective control and supervision of microplastics polluted areas in inland China.