Occurrence and distribution of microplastics and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments from the Qiantang River and Hangzhou Bay, China.

Occurrence and distribution of microplastics and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments from the Qiantang River and Hangzhou Bay, China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Mar 29;196:110536 Authors: Fraser MA, Chen L, Ashar M, Huang W, Zeng J, Zhang C, Zhang D Abstract Rivers are important routes for sea-bound microplastics. Thus, this study investigated the occurrences and distributions of microplastics and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment samples from the Qiantang River (QR) and Hangzhou Bay (HZ) and analyzed the correlation between microplastics and PCBs. A total of 15 sampling sites were selected, including eight from the QR (i.e., four in the Tonglu area and four in the Fuyang area), two from the Andong salt marsh (ASM; located in a hydrodynamic turning point of the HZ), and five from HZ. The mean microplastic abundance was highest in the QR, followed by HZ and ASM, with 0.23 ± 0.06, 0.18 ± 0.05, and 0.15 ± 0.03 particles/g sediment, respectively. Cluster analysis demonstrated that fragments and fibers may have originated from domestic sewage inputs to the QR. Spatially, mean PCB concentrations from Tonglu, Fuyang, and HZ were 1.47 ± 0.10, 1.65 ± 0.10, and 1.65 ± 0.09 ng/g sediment, respectively, which were higher than that from the ASM (1.13 ± 0.09 ng/g sediment). The vertical distributions (0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, and 10-15 cm) of microplastics in the sediments at Tonglu and Fuyang decreased with incre...
Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Ecotoxicol Environ Saf Source Type: research