Impact of Microplastic Fibers from the Degradation of Nonwoven Synthetic Textiles to the Magdalena River Water Column and River Sediments by the City of Neiva, Huila (Colombia)

Paula Martínez Silva,Mark A Nanny

doi:10.3390/w12041210

Paula Martínez Silva, Mark A Nanny

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041210

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Abstract

Magdalena River surface water and shoreline sediments were sampled for microplastic particles at three locations in the city of Neiva, Colombia: upstream, city center, and downstream of the raw wastewater outflow. The absence of an industrial and manufacturing sector in Neiva provided an opportunity to assess the impact of upstream agricultural practices, as well as municipal activities such as wastewater outflow and laundry washing, on the quantity, polymer composition, and morphology of microplastic particles produced per capita and entering a river system. Microplastic particle concentrations increased with downstream distance, with microfiber concentrations ranging from 0.097 to 0.135 fibers/L in the river water and 25.5 to 102.4 fibers/kg in shoreline sediment. Microplastic fragment concentrations were 0.013–0.028 fragments/L in surface water and 10.4–12.7 fragments/kg of sediment. Raman microscope and scanning electron microscopy identified the relative composition of the polymers comprising the microplastic particles was similar regardless of sampling site or whether the sample was collected from the surface water or shoreline sediments, with polypropylene and polyethylene comprising at least 75% of the total polymers in all samples. Average fiber widths of < 20 µm in all but one sample, along with the lack of acrylic and polyester fibers used predominantly in woven synthetic textiles, indicated that the degradation of nonwoven synthetic textiles is the predominant origin of these microplastic fibers in the Magdalena River.

Highlights

Microplastics are plastic particles with a diameter less than 5 mm and are categorized into two classes according to their origin: primary or secondary
999 microplastic particles were characterized from all three sites combined, with 84% identified as fibers, 15% as fragments, and 1% as pellets
Due to the absence of an industrial and manufacturing sector in the city of Neiva, this study utilized Neiva to characterize the contribution of raw wastewater outflow and household activities in a midsized urban environment on the amount and type of microplastic particles deposited into the river water and sediments

Summary

Introduction

Microplastics are plastic particles with a diameter less than 5 mm and are categorized into two classes according to their origin: primary or secondary. Primary microplastics are those manufactured at a microscale size for use in cosmetics, exfoliating scrubs, and dental paste, while secondary microplastics are those that form through degradation of plastic materials and synthetic textiles [1,2,3]. Environmental inputs of microplastic particles include release of treated or raw sewage [2], degradation of plastic debris and packaging, particle runoff from roads, and most recently discovered, wind transport [5,6,7].

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