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Do the contemporary urban surface sediments contain particles of microplastic?
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Researchers searched for and identified microplastic particles in urban surface deposited sediments (dust and soil) in Russian cities using Raman spectroscopy. They found polymer particles in all sampled urban surface sediments, confirming that city environments accumulate microplastics from traffic, building materials, and daily human activity. The study provides evidence that urban dust is a reservoir for microplastic contamination that can be mobilized to water and soil.
The study is aimed to find and identify particles of polymer materials in contemporary urban surface deposited sediments (USDS). USDS reflect changes in the geochemical conditions that occur in the environment, and the USDS accumulates microplastic along with other pollutants. The search and identification of microplastics was conducted by Raman spectroscopy for two types of samples: granulometric subsamples obtained from USDS samples collected in Russian cities, and individual supposedly polymer particles collected from solid phase material of snow-dirt sludge samples. According to the analysis of Raman maps the particles of microplastic were not found in any sample of the granulometric subsamples from USDS. Individual particles from the solid material of snow-dirt sludge were identified as particles of polymer origin as other minerals and chemicals. The results obtained contribute to the scientific basis for the development of the effective system of regulation and control of pollution of the urban environment with polymer materials.
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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.