Article
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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Marine & Wildlife
Remediation
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Questionnaire-based survey to managers of 101 wastewater treatment plants in Greece confirms their potential as plastic marine litter sources
Marine Pollution Bulletin2018
43 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 35
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Nikolaos Mourgkogiannis,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Hrissi K. Karapanagioti,
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis
Summary
A survey of 101 wastewater treatment plants in Greece found that while they remove most microplastics, the volume of effluent they discharge means they still release significant quantities of microplastics into the sea. Improving treatment or handling of concentrated sludge could reduce this ongoing source.
Study Type
Environmental
Marine pollution by plastics and microplastics (plastic particles 1 nm to 5 mm) is a recognized environmental issue. There are a few studies measuring the concentration of microplastics in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) effluent to the sea. Although microplastic concentrations are low in the WWTP effluent, the actual amount of microplastic ending up in the marine environment through WWTPs is quite significant. The present study is an extensive questionnaire-based survey to untrained managers of 101 WWTPs located all over Greece reporting visually-observed plastic items. 94 of the WWTPs have screens with gaps larger than 5 mm. This suggests that microplastics are passing through pretreatment to the main WWTP. In addition, 89 of the WWTP managers observed plastics in different tanks of the WWTPs. Cotton swab sticks are identified as the most common plastic found in WWTPs and the surrounding marine and coastal areas of the effluent pipes.