Stormwater runoff microplastics: Polymer types, particle size, and factors controlling loading rates

Abstract

Stormwater runoff is a pathway of entry for microplastics (MPs, plastics <5 mm) into aquatic ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to determine MP size, morphology, chemical composition, and loading across urban storm events. Particles were extracted from stormwater samples collected at outfall locations using wet peroxide oxidation and cellulose digestion followed by analysis via attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FTIR. Concentrations observed were 0.99 ± 1.10 MP/L for 500–1000 μm and 0.41 ± 0.30 MP/L for the 1000–5000 μm size ranges. Seventeen different polymer types were observed. MP particle sizes measured using a FTIR-microscope camera indicated non-target size particles based on sieve-size classification, highlighting a potential source of error in studies reporting concentration by size class. A maximum MP load of 38.3 MP/m2 of upstream catchment was calculated. MP loadings had moderate correlations with both rainfall accumulation and intensity (Kendall τ = 0.54 and 0.42, respectively, both p ≤ 0.005). First flush (i.e. rapid wash-off of pollutants from watershed surfaces during rainfall early stages) was not always observed, and antecedent dry days were not correlated with MP abundance, likely due to the short dry periods between sampling events. Overall, the results presented provide data for risk assessment and mitigation strategies.