The abundance and characteristics of microplastics in rainwater pipelines in Wuhan, China

Sang, Wenjiao; Chen, Zhiyi; Mei, Longjie; Hao, Shiwen; Zhan, Cheng; Zhang, Wen bin; Li, Min; Li, Jun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142606

Cited by 102 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other studies, however, have not found relationships between concentrations and rainfall or antecedent dry days (Werbowski et al, 2021;Boni et al, 2022), suggesting that additional factors may contribute the concentrations observed in stormwater. Microplastics and anthropogenic particles are subject to transport processes within the sewer pipes, such as deposition and resuspension, and particles that settle into storm sewer sediment will remain there until water velocities are sufficiently high to remobilize them (Hurley et al, 2018;Ockelford et al, 2020;Sang et al, 2021). In Calgary microplastic concentrations were correlated to the maximum runoff flow rate during rain events (Supplementary Figure S5), but not rainfall, suggesting remobilization of microplastics from within the sewer system.…”

Section: Microplastics In Baseflow Vs Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This hypothesis has been supported by reports of high concentrations of microplastics in runoff. Concentrations of microplastic in stormwater are highly variable, ranging from 1.3 to 6,000 pcs/L (Grbić et al, 2020;Järlskog et al, 2020;Piñon-Colin et al, 2020;Sang et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2023), and may exceed concentrations in treated WWTP effluent (Sutton et al, 2019) and nearby aquatic environments (Grbić et al, 2020). In Shanghai, China, it is estimated that 333.5 tons/yr of microplastics flow into nearby waterways via stormwater runoff (Chen et al, 2022), representing 10.4% of the total microplastic flow.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events

Ross

Loutan²,

Groeneveld³

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban stormwater runoff is an important pathway for the introduction of microplastics and other anthropogenic pollutants into aquatic environments. Highly variable concentrations of microplastics have been reported globally in runoff, but knowledge of key factors within urban environments contributing to this variability remains limited. Furthermore, few studies to date have quantitatively assessed the release of microplastics to receiving waters via runoff. The objectives of this study were to assess the influence of different catchment characteristics on the type and amount of microplastics in runoff and to provide an estimate of the quantity of microplastics discharged during rain events. Stormwater samples were collected during both dry periods (baseflow) and rain events from 15 locations throughout the city of Calgary, Canada’s fourth largest city. These catchments ranged in size and contained different types of predominant land use. Microplastics were found in all samples, with total concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 200.4 pcs/L (mean = 31.9 pcs/L). Fibers were the most prevalent morphology identified (47.7 ± 33.0%), and the greatest percentage of microplastics were found in the 125–250 µm size range (26.6 ± 22.9%) followed by the 37–125 µm size range (24.0 ± 22.3%). Particles were predominantly black (33.5 ± 33.8%), transparent (22.6 ± 31.3%), or blue (16.0 ± 21.6%). Total concentrations, dominant morphologies, and size distributions of microplastics differed between rain events and baseflow, with smaller particles and higher concentrations being found during rain events. Concentrations did not differ significantly amongst catchments with different land use types, but concentrations were positively correlated with maximum runoff flow rate, catchment size, and the percentage of impervious surface area within a catchment. Combining microplastic concentrations with hydrograph data collected during rain events, we estimated that individual outfalls discharged between 1.9 million to 9.6 billion microplastics to receiving waters per rain event. These results provide further evidence that urban stormwater runoff is a significant pathway for the introduction of microplastics into aquatic environments and suggests that mitigation strategies for microplastic pollution should focus on larger urbanized catchments.

show abstract

Section: Microplastics In Baseflow Vs Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events

Ross

Loutan²,

Groeneveld³

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, Werbowski et al (2021) sampled stormwater and similarly reported a high proportion of rubbery fragments. Sang et al (2021) also found a high percentage of fragments in their stormwater sample. Zhu et al (2021) sampled wastewater and similarly reported spheres as a signature of WWTP effluent.…”

Section: Microplastic Morphologies Across Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 92%

Runoff and discharge pathways of microplastics into freshwater ecosystems: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Wang

Bucci

Helm

et al. 2022

FACETS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although many studies have focused on the importance of littering and (or) illegal dumping as a source of plastic pollution to freshwater, other relevant pathways should be considered, including wastewater, stormwater runoff, industrial effluent/runoff, and agricultural runoff. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis focused on these four pathways. We quantified the number of studies, amount and characteristics of microplastics reported, and the methods used to sample and measure microplastics from each pathway. Overall, we found 121 studies relevant to our criteria, published from 2014 to 2020. Of these, 54 (45%) quantified and characterized microplastics in discharge pathways. Although most focused on wastewater treatment plant effluent (85%), microplastic concentrations were highest in stormwater runoff (0.009 to 3862 particles/L). Morphologies of particles varied among pathways and sampling methods. For example, stormwater runoff was the only pathway with rubbery particles. When assessing methods, our analysis suggested that water filtered through a finer (<200 um) mesh and of a smaller volume (e.g., 6 L) captured more particles, and with a slightly greater morphological diversity. Overall, our meta-analysis suggested that all four pathways bring microplastics into freshwater ecosystems, and further research is necessary to inform the best methods for monitoring and to better understand hydrologic patterns that can inform local mitigation.

show abstract

“…It is recommended that items per kg be adopted as a standard as some recent studies have further classified MPs into fibres, particles, fragments, filaments, microbeads, foams etc. based on their shape (Bertoldi et al 2021;Kumar et al 2021;Sang et al 2021). Also, the use of both weight and volume is recommended where possible.…”

Section: Concerns About Identification/quantification Of Mpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in freshwater sediments: Analytical methods, temporal trends, and risk of associated organophosphate esters as exemplar plastics additives

Onoja

Nel

Abdallah

et al. 2022

Environmental Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The abundance and characteristics of microplastics in rainwater pipelines in Wuhan, China

Cited by 102 publications

References 51 publications

Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events

Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events

Runoff and discharge pathways of microplastics into freshwater ecosystems: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Microplastics in freshwater sediments: Analytical methods, temporal trends, and risk of associated organophosphate esters as exemplar plastics additives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About