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Study of a stream in Argentina with a high concentration of microplastics: Preliminary analysis of the methodology
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This study assessed microplastic concentrations in a stream in Argentina's Pampas region that receives urban wastewater, finding relatively high levels and developing optimal analysis protocols for local conditions. As one of the first such studies in Argentina, the findings highlight that microplastic contamination of freshwater is a global problem reaching South American rivers.
This study presents for the first time results about the microplastic concentration and their origin in a stream of the Pampas region in Argentina, receiving wastewater of an intermediate city. The most appropriate procedure to analyze and quantify the microplastics in the studied system is the use of an oxidative digestion process using a 30% HO solution to eliminate the organic matter in the samples. A high quantity of MPs, on the order of millions of microplastics per m of water, was estimated in the Langueyú stream. 56% of the microplastics correspond to fibers with diameters between 10 and 15 μm and lengths less than 500 μm, while 44% are fragments with sizes of tens of micrometers. Raman microspectroscopy was used to identify the type of fibers. The characteristics of the microplastic fibers released in a wash load test are comparable with those observed in the Langueyú stream, in particular, the average sizes and the distribution of the diameters of the MPFs are similar. The processes in the sewage treatment plant, prior to their discharge in the stream, would affect the color of the fibers and their length.
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Researchers measured micro, meso, and macroplastics in Langueyú stream, which runs through the city of Tandil in Argentina and receives discharge from two wastewater treatment plants, finding the most contaminated zone immediately downstream of the treatment plant outflows. The study demonstrates how urban wastewater infrastructure can be a concentrated point source of plastic pollution in small urban waterways.
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Researchers found macro-, meso-, and microplastics along riverbanks near Rosario city on the lower Paraná River in Argentina, with single-use items being dominant. The study highlights that South American freshwater rivers are important conduits for plastic pollution entering the ocean.
Evaluación De La Presencia De Microplásticos En Playas Del Río Del La Plata: Ciudad De Buenos Aires Y Alrededores
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Microplastics were found in beach sediments along the Río de la Plata near Buenos Aires in both winter and spring surveys, confirming urban plastic pollution has reached coastal environments close to one of South America's largest cities.
Transport of microplastics in a stream that receives the discharge of effluents from wastewater treatment plants of a medium-sized city in the southeast of the Buenos Aires province in Argentina
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Researchers studied microplastic transport dynamics in a stream receiving wastewater treatment plant effluents in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, examining how MPs move along waterways and undergo sedimentation and resuspension processes downstream of point-source contamination.
Occurrence and distribution of microplastics along the Colorado River, Patagonia Argentina
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Researchers conducted the first study of microplastic contamination along the Colorado River in Argentine Patagonia, collecting samples from 12 sites spanning approximately 1000 km. The findings document microplastic pollution in a remote South American river affected by agriculture, hydrocarbon extraction, and urbanization, showing that even relatively pristine rivers carry plastic pollution.
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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.