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Environmental Sources
Remediation
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Microplastics composition and load from three wastewater treatment plants discharging into Mersin Bay, north eastern Mediterranean Sea
Marine Pollution Bulletin2019
206 citations
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Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Halil Kumbur,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Halil Kumbur,
Halil Kumbur,
Halil Kumbur,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Halil Kumbur,
Halil Kumbur,
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Kerem Gökdağ,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Ceyhun Akarsu,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Anna Sànchez‐Vidal,
Ahmet E. Kıdeyş
Summary
Three wastewater treatment plants discharging into Mersin Bay in the northeastern Mediterranean were found to release significant loads of microplastics into coastal waters, with fibers and fragments as the dominant forms. The study quantifies WWTPs as a measurable source of ongoing microplastic input to Mediterranean marine ecosystems.
Study Type
Environmental
Copious quantities of microplastics enter the sewage system on a daily basis, and hence wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could be an important source of microplastic pollution in coastal waters. Influent and effluent discharges from three WWTPs in Mersin Bay, Turkey were sampled at monthly intervals over a one-year period during 2017. When data from all WWTPs were combined, fibers constituted the dominant particle form, accounting for 69.7% of total microplastics. Although notable oscillations in microplastic particle concentrations were observed throughout the year influent waters on average contained about 2.5-fold greater concentrations of microplastics compared to the effluent waters. An average of 0.9 microplastic particles were found per liter of effluent from the three WWTPs amounting to around 180 × 10<sup>6</sup> particles per day to Mersin Bay. This shows that despite their ability to remove 55-97% of microplastics, WWTPs are one of the main sources of microplastics to the northeast Mediterranean Sea.