419 / 2024-03-15 12:49:44

Occurrence Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment of Microplastics in Drinking Water Sources in the Yangtze River Basin

microplastics; the Yangtze river basin; source of drinking water; emerging contaminants; ecological risk assessment

Subtheme 3: Eco-hydraulics and Environment > Topic 2: Water Eco-environment Monitoring and Simulation

As a type of emerging contaminants, microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and have garnered widespread attention due to their potential risks to ecosystems and human health. Modeling studies indicate that the Yangtze River has the highest global flux of microplastics to the sea, and monitoring investigations also reveal that the concentrations of microplastics in the main and tributary streams of the Yangtze River are at a moderately elevated level on a global scale. However, there have been few monitoring investigations of microplastics in drinking water sources. This study utilized infrared microscopy to analyze the occurrence characteristics of microplastics in the water of 12 nationally important drinking water sources in the Yangtze River Basin and evaluated the potential ecological risks posed by microplastics in these water bodies. The results indicate that the abundance of microplastics in the water of all sources range from 0 to 4 particles per liter (n/L), with an average abundance of 1.8 n/L, which is lower than the average level of microplastics in water within the Yangtze River Basin. Microplastics are primarily fibrous in shape, predominantly transparent in color, and predominantly composed of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Ecological risk assessment reveals that two of the water sources fall within risk zone IV, primarily due to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pollution, while the remaining sources are classified below risk zone II, indicating low ecological risks. Moving forward, there is a need for enhanced systematic research on microplastics in water sources to provide a scientific basis for ensuring drinking water safety and maintaining water ecological health.