Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Macroplastics in the Guarapiranga reservoir (São Paulo, Brazil): estimating the generation of microplastics

This study identified and quantified macroplastics and microplastics in the Guarapiranga Reservoir in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a major public water supply reservoir, assessing contamination levels and sources. Plastics of multiple size classes were detected in the reservoir, highlighting contamination risks for a water body used to supply drinking water to millions of people.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution of water and sediment from the Guarapiranga Reservoir, Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, Brazil

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in water and sediment from the Guarapiranga Reservoir in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region of Brazil, a major drinking water source. The study found diverse microplastic types and raises concerns about plastic pollution in urban water supply systems.

2020 UNIFESP Institutional Repository (Universidade Federal de São Paulo)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil)

Researchers characterised the extent and distribution of microplastic contamination throughout the Guandu River basin in Brazil, which supplies drinking water to a major urban area, quantifying MP concentrations and identifying dominant polymer types and morphologies to assess risks to the water supply.

2025 Cambridge Prisms Plastics
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Water and Sediments in a Public Supply Reservoir in Presidente Prudente (SP), Brazil

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in a public water supply reservoir in Brazil and identified 663 particles, predominantly fibers, with the most common polymers being PET, polypropylene, and polyethylene. The total estimated microplastic load in the reservoir was approximately 15.7 million particles, with higher concentrations near urbanized areas, suggesting untreated domestic and industrial effluents as primary contamination sources.

2026 Water Air & Soil Pollution
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution responses to spatial and seasonal variations and water level management in a polymictic tropical reservoir (São Paulo, Brazil)

Researchers assessed microplastic pollution in water and sediment from the Guarapiranga Reservoir in Brazil, which supplies drinking water to over five million people. They found that microplastic concentrations were higher near urbanized areas and during the dry season, with water management operations like reservoir drawdowns influencing particle distribution. The study highlights the connection between urban land use, seasonal patterns, and microplastic contamination in critical drinking water sources.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Review: Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil) — R1/PR7

Researchers found microplastic concentrations of 6.1 ± 4.9 particles/m³ in the cold-dry season and 2.3 ± 1.1 particles/m³ in the warm-rainy season in the Guandu River basin of Rio de Janeiro, with polyethylene and polypropylene dominating and higher abundance linked to greater urban land use.

2025
Article Tier 2

Review: Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil) — R1/PR8

Researchers found microplastic contamination throughout the Guandu River basin in Brazil, which supplies water to the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, with abundance averaging 6.1 particles/m3 in the cold-dry season and 2.3 particles/m3 in the warm-rainy season, dominated by fragments and fibers across 11 identified polymer types.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater River in Rio de Janeiro and Its Role as a Source of Microplastic Pollution in Guanabara Bay, SE Brazil

Researchers found widespread microplastic contamination in three rivers flowing into Guanabara Bay, Brazil, with an average of 3,651 particles per cubic meter dominated by fibers, identifying these freshwater systems as major sources of coastal microplastic pollution.

2023 Micro 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Review: Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil) — R0/PR2

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin — the primary water supply for the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region — collecting surface water samples at 11 sites using Manta trawl nets in two seasonal periods. They found MP abundances of 6.1 particles/m3 in the cold-dry season and 2.3 particles/m3 in the warm-rainy season, with fragments and fibres dominant, polyethylene and polypropylene the most common polymers, and no significant seasonal differences in overall abundance.

2025
Article Tier 2

How natural and anthropogenic factors should drive microplastic behavior and fate: The scenario of Brazilian urban freshwater

This review examines the factors driving microplastic contamination in Brazilian freshwater systems, including the country's massive plastic production and limited recycling infrastructure. Researchers highlight that more than half of post-consumer plastic packaging in Brazil goes unmonitored, and most microplastic research has focused on marine environments while freshwater data remains scarce. The study calls for more systematic monitoring of Brazilian rivers and lakes, especially given the country's continental-scale waterways and diverse ecosystems.

2023 Chemosphere 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Recommendation: Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil) — R0/PR4

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin — the primary water supply reservoir for the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region — collecting surface water samples at 11 sites across two seasons and identifying 11 polymer types via micro-FTIR, with abundances of 6.1 particles/m3 in the cold-dry season and 2.3 particles/m3 in the warm-rainy season.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in water from the confluence of tropical rivers: Overall review and a case study in Paraiba do Sul River basin

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination at river confluences in the Paraiba do Sul River basin, Brazil's most important southeastern watershed serving millions of people. They found microplastics throughout the river system, with higher concentrations near industrial and densely populated areas. Since this river basin supplies drinking water and supports agriculture for a large population, the contamination raises direct concerns about human microplastic exposure.

2023 Chemosphere 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Recommendation: Microplastic contamination in the Guandu River basin: The water supply reservoir of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region (Southeastern Brazil) — R1/PR9

Researchers documented microplastic contamination across 11 sampling sites in the Guandu River basin in southeastern Brazil, identifying diverse polymer types including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET using micro-FTIR, with fragment shapes and seasonal variation in particle abundance.

2025
Article Tier 2

Spatiotemporal variation in microplastic contamination along a subtropical reservoir shoreline

Researchers tracked microplastic contamination along the shoreline of a subtropical reservoir over two years and found that microplastic abundance was higher near urban areas and varied with season, with storm-related inputs creating significant temporal spikes.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence and Quantification of Microplastic in Urban Tap-Water

Tap water samples from Brasília, Brazil were found to contain microplastic contamination, with fibers being the most common type detected across both residential zones tested. The study adds to growing evidence that people may be regularly ingesting microplastics through municipal drinking water.

2020 Harvard Dataverse
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems: macro-, meso-, and microplastic debris in a floodplain lake

Researchers surveyed macro-, meso-, and microplastic debris in a South American floodplain lake and found an average of 704 microplastic particles per square meter in sediments, with plastic contamination comparable to marine beaches — demonstrating that freshwater lakes can be major plastic pollution reservoirs.

2017 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 308 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in the highly polluted Tietê River (São Paulo, Brazil): an unsustainable human-nature relationship

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in the Tiete River downstream of Sao Paulo, one of the most polluted rivers in Brazil. They found microplastics in both water and sediment samples across wet and dry seasons, with fibers and fragments being the dominant types. The study confirms that heavily urbanized areas are major sources of microplastic pollution that contaminates downstream river ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 3 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Global meta-analysis of microplastic contamination in reservoirs with a novel framework

Microplastic abundance in reservoirs worldwide varied over 2-6 orders of magnitude, with small particles (<1 mm) comprising over 60% of total counts; geographic location, seasonal variation, and land-use type were the main drivers, and current mitigation policies were found insufficient.

2021 Water Research 185 citations
Article Tier 2

Benthic macroinvertebrates and microplastic contamination in contrasting water quality environments of the Middle Tietê River basin (São Paulo, Brazil)

Researchers compared microplastic contamination in benthic invertebrates and sediments between a heavily polluted urban river and a cleaner tributary in São Paulo, Brazil. Higher microplastic concentrations were found near urban areas, confirming that human activity drives plastic accumulation in freshwater ecosystems.

2023 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

First evidence of microplastic contamination in the freshwater of Lake Guaíba, Porto Alegre, Brazil

The first evidence of microplastic contamination was documented in the freshwater of Lake Guaiba, Porto Alegre, Brazil, a major drinking water source. Microplastics were found in lake water samples, raising concerns about potential contamination of drinking water supplies derived from this freshwater body.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 204 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste in surface waters of an urban estuary

Researchers assessed plastic waste in the surface waters of the Capibaribe River estuary in Brazil, cataloguing 381 macroplastic items (mostly soft fragments at 83.9%) and 1,757 microplastic particles concentrated in the upper and middle estuary, with advanced degradation stages observed across 90.5% of collected debris.

2023 Marine and Freshwater Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence and Quantification of Microplastic in Urban Tap Water: A Pre-Screening in Brasilia, Brazil

Researchers sampled tap water from Brasilia, Brazil and detected microplastics in all samples, with fibers as the dominant type and concentrations higher than many previous studies from other cities, highlighting the need for treatment infrastructure improvements and standardized monitoring.

2021 Sustainability 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Suspended microplastics in a highly polluted bay: Abundance, size, and availability for mesozooplankton

Researchers quantified suspended microplastics in Guanabara Bay, Brazil using different mesh size nets, finding high microplastic abundance and characterizing size distributions to assess the availability of plastic particles for ingestion by mesozooplankton as an entry point into the food web.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and composition analysis of plastic pollution in riverine beaches of the lower Paraná River, Argentina

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.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 23 citations