Water 2025, 17(13), 1996; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17131996 (registering DOI) - 2 Jul 2025
Abstract
Although the risks of microplastics (MPs) and plasticizers have received attention, plastic chemical parks, as an important source of them, lack adequate research. A river in eastern China that connects to Hangzhou Bay and receives wastewater from the plastics industry was targeted for
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Although the risks of microplastics (MPs) and plasticizers have received attention, plastic chemical parks, as an important source of them, lack adequate research. A river in eastern China that connects to Hangzhou Bay and receives wastewater from the plastics industry was targeted for investigation. The highest concentrations of MPs in water and sediment samples were found at the effluent (2250 ± 469 items/L and 3245 ± 430 items/kg, respectively). The WWTP effluent significantly increased the concentrations of MPs in the downstream water and sediments, which were 2.77 and 2.57 times higher than those in the upstream water, respectively. It was estimated that 2.24 × 1013 MPs entered the environment annually through wastewater discharge. The di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) concentration was the highest at the effluent (32.6 ± 7.9 μg/L in water and 2.7 ± 3.4 μg/g in sediment), and the downstream DEHP concentrations were 3.37 and 2.41 times higher than those in the upstream water and sediment, respectively. All three risk assessment models showed that the WWTP discharge outlet had the highest risk of MPs. DEHP in 87.5% of sediment samples posed a medium risk to algae.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Microplastic Pollution on Soil and Groundwater Environment)
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