Abstract
Microplastics are defined as any plastic with a diameter ≤5 mm. Problems associated with these plastics such as contamination of both marine and freshwater environments and ingestion by aquatic organisms are of increasing concern. Our study quantifies the number of microplastics in a prairie creek immediately downstream of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Water samples and five species of fish were collected from sample sites upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the summers of 2015 and 2016. Samples were digested in either a Fe(II)/H2O2 or NaClO solution and observed under a microscope where plastics present were enumerated by colour and type. At least one microplastic was detected in 73.5% of fish and 95.6% of water samples, showing that the creek does, in fact, contain microplastics. Concentrations were higher in water from upstream sites, likely due to dilution of creek water by the release of treated effluent. The results of this study provide baseline conditions for the presence of plastics in the creek prior to a major upgrade of the WWTP scheduled for completion in 2016.
Highlights
The contamination of both marine and freshwater environments with microplastics, as well as their ingestion by freshwater organisms, is of increasing concern (Wagner et al 2014; Eerkes-Medrano et al 2015)
The concentrations of microplastics in water were confounded by a statistical interaction between year sampled and site collected (F1,2 = 6.61, p = 0.005), and while we are cautious in interpreting the main effects due to the interaction effect, it is likely that the interaction effect is due to the fact that the concentrations were greater upstream in both years and flow rates differed between years (Table 1)
This study shows that microplastics are present in Wascana Creek, and that further studies will be required to determine the source of the microplastics, the habits of the organisms ingesting the microplastics, the toxicants absorbed and emitted by the microplastics, and methods for remediation that may help diminish microplastic numbers in the creek
Summary
The contamination of both marine and freshwater environments with microplastics, as well as their ingestion by freshwater organisms, is of increasing concern (Wagner et al 2014; Eerkes-Medrano et al 2015). No ubiquitous definition of microplastics exists, microplastics are largely considered to be plastic polymer debris with a diameter of ≤5 mm (Betts 2008; Barnes et al 2009). This plastic debris can be ranked as primary, in which the particle was manufactured as a microplastic, or secondary, in which the particle was manufactured as a macroplastic (>5 mm) and degraded to its present size (Cole et al 2011; Rummel 2014).
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