Impact of coastal wastewater treatment plants on microplastic pollution in surface seawater and ecological risk assessment

SÖNMEZ V. Z., Akarsu C., SİVRİ N.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, cilt.318, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 318
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120922
  • Dergi Adı: ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Geobase, Greenfile, MEDLINE, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

This study aims to understand the influence of wastewater treatment plant discharge on the microplastic status in the surface seawater of Istanbul. For this purpose, for the first time, the distribution, composition, and ecological risk of microplastics at nine sampling stations on the southern coast of Istanbul, Marmara, were investigated at monthly intervals over a one-year period. The results showed that the microplastic abundance ranged from 0 to over 1000 particles per liter. Fibers were the dominant form at all stations. Microplastics 249-100 mu m were the dominant size, and transparency was the color most found at all stations. Polyethylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate were the major types of microplastics, accounting for 50% overall. The pollution load index revealed that over 70% of sampling stations were at hazard level I. However, the hazardous index was categorized as level III with a value of 662.3 due to the presence of the most hazardous polymer named polyurethane. Further investigations into the risk assessment of MP can reveal crucial knowledge for understanding the microplastic cycle.