Huge quantities of microplastics are “hidden” in the sediment of China's largest urban lake—Tangxun Lake

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in Tangxun Lake, the largest urban lake in China, was investigated. The average MPs pollution in sediment (1.81 ± 1.75 × 104 items kg−1) is at a high level, while the MPs in lakeshore water (917.77 ± 742.17 items m−3) is in the middle to low level compared with existing studies, which is related to the government's protection. Fragments and fibers are the most common shapes in sediment and water, respectively. MPs size <1 mm dominates in the sediment, while the MPs in water has a larger size. The distribution of MPs in the inner lake shows that pellets tend to “hidden” in sediments. Suspected MPs are randomly selected for polymer detection by Micro-Raman microscopy. Polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are the most common polymer types in water, sediment and atmospheric deposition MPs samples. The input of wastewater, fishery and surrounding human activities are the main sources of MPs in sediment. Atmospheric deposition has a great impact on the distribution of MPs, while the contribution of surface runoff to lake MPs is not remarkable. In addition, MPs in sediments have exceeded the environmental carrying capacity. More attention should be focused on the sediment, where huge amounts of MPs are “hidden”.