Occurrence of microplastics in the Danube River - a first screening

Abstract

Plastics, and microplastics in particular, are still part of scientific and regulatory discussions. Their inputs from land ultimately end up in the oceans, where they remain for a long time. River systems represent an important path of entry into the oceans. The Danube is the second largest river in Europe and can therefore be an example for the occurrence of plastic in other large river systems. In JDS4 a comprehensive screening of microplastics was carried out over the entire course of the river. Sampling was performed by means of deploying sedimentation boxes into the river for 14 days; followed by thermo-analytical detection (TED-GC/MS) for determination of the total content of various plastic polymers in the collected suspended particulate matter samples. For the first time, a baseline of pollution by microplastics in the Danube River Basin has been established. In all samples almost, all analyzed polymers were detected and quantified, whereas there is no clear trend along the Danube with increasing or decreasing contents. The contents ranged between 0.05 - 22.24, 0.00 - 0.45, 0.00-1.03 and 0.00 3.32 for PE, PP, SBR and PS [(micro)g/mg] SPM, respectively. Quelle: A shared analysis of the Danube River : joint Danube survey 4 ; scientific report / Editors: Igor Liška [and five others]. - Vienna : International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, 2021. - 1 Onlineresource (562 pages) : Illustrationen. - E-Book; Dateigröße / Dateiumfang: 44,09 MB. - ISBN 978-3-200-07450-7, Seite 487