Wastewater Discharge Transports Riverine Microplastics over Long Distances

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 58; no. 34; pp. 15147 - 15158
• Main Authors: Chen, Cai, Cowger, Win, Nava, Veronica, van Emmerik, Tim H. M., Leoni, Barbara, Guo, Zhao-feng, Liu, Dong, He, Yu-qin, Xu, Yao-yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 30.07.2024
• Subjects: Discharge; Environmental factors; Microplastics; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; pollution; riparian areas; River basin development; River basins; Rivers; technology; wastewater; Wastewater discharges; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water pollution; watersheds; Waterways; Yangtze River; Yangtze River; microplastics; wastewater discharge; spatial dependence; the Yangtze River Basin; basin scale; upstream boundary

Wastewater discharge from wastewater treatment plants continuously pumps microplastics into rivers, yet their transport distances within these waterways remain unknown. Herein, we developed a conceptual framework by synthesizing the microplastic data from the Yangtze River Basin to evaluate its tran...