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physical-chemical environment (fragmentation, micro-pollutant exchanges) and
(2) their interaction with the biological compartment including ecotoxicological
effects but also biodegradation. As underlined by Dris et al. [4], the term
âmicroplasticsâ was used first in the Thompson article to describemainly plastic
particles that are âfibrous, 20ÎŒmin diameter, and brightly colored.âHowever, in
2008 another definition ofmicroplasticswith amuchbroader scopewas proposed
that included all the particleswith a size smaller than 5mm[5].Although, on the
basis of the usual scientific meaning of âmicro,â microplastics will describe
âmicrometricâ particles (i.e., 1â1,000ÎŒm), for the scientific community, the name
âmicroâhas tobeunderstoodfollowingitsGreekwordÎŒÎčÎșÏoÂŽÏ,meaningsmall (i.e.,
all particles<5mm).
This issueofmicroplastics in theenvironment has received increasingattention
from the scientists, and the number of articles on this subject increased from less
than 10 in 2011 to more than 150 in 2016 (request on Scopus with the words
âmicroplasticâandâenvironmentâ).However,microplastics in freshwaterenviron-
ments represent only a small fraction of this amount. The first articles on
microplastics in freshwater were published in 2011 and focus mainly on Lake
Huron [6] and Los Angeles rivers [7] in the USA. Since that period, numerous
studies havebeenpublishedcovering all continents,with the exceptionofAntarc-
tica, and all the potentially impacted environments (water and sediment for the
aquaticenvironment,banks for the terrestrialenvironment).Whileat thebeginning
mainly lakeshavebeen investigated, it canbe considered that nowboth lentic and
lotic ecosystemsare investigated.Nevertheless, thedynamicsoffibers andplastics
inurbancatchmentsandhydrosystemsarepracticallyunknown.Their fate, transfer
routes, andprocesses in continentalwater haveyet to bedetermined.
Citiescanbeconsideredasoneof themajor sourcesofMPsas theygather at an
especially high density all the activities that involve plastics andMPs including
textile uses, packaging, transportation, electronics, buildings, and constructions.
Theaimof thiswork is toprovideacomprehensiveanalysisof thesourcesandfate
ofmicroplastics inanurbanenvironmentwitha focuson theParisMegacity.Often
referred to as the Paris agglomeration, thismegacity is one theworldâs 40 largest
with a population of over 10million. The Paris agglomeration is crossed by the
SeineRiver,whosecatchmentdrainsanareaofapproximately32,000km2fromthe
riverâs headwaters to Paris. This catchment combines intense anthropogenic pres-
sureswith a very limited dilution factor due to the low average flowof the Seine
River (350m3 s 1 in Paris). As a consequence, the Paris agglomeration exerts a
dramaticpressure regardingpollutants on the river andprovides agoodcase study
in order to understand the consequences of urban environments on continental
water.Moreover, to our knowledge, there is no case study dealingwithMPs and
covering all the compartments of the urban system and fluxes that occur between
them. This study on Paris Megacity provides, from our point of view, the most
comprehensive overview ofMP sources in an urban area and its interactionwith
continentalwater.
70 R.Dris et al.
Freshwater Microplastics
Emerging Environmental Contaminants?
- Title
- Freshwater Microplastics
- Subtitle
- Emerging Environmental Contaminants?
- Authors
- Martin Wagner
- Scott Lambert
- Publisher
- Springer Open
- Date
- 2018
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-319-61615-5
- Size
- 15.5 x 24.1 cm
- Pages
- 316
- Categories
- Naturwissenschaften Chemie