Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIV
Written by Mădălina CĂLMUC, Valentina Andreea CĂLMUC, Nina Nicoleta LAZĂR, Marius IVANOV, Puiu-Lucian GEORGESCU, Cătălina ITICESCU
Although the presence of microplastics in the oceans was first reported in the 1970s, the first studies on lakes were published in 2011. This pioneering study aims to determine the presence of microplastics in the Somova-Parches lacustrine complex, situated in the predeltaic territory of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. The Pollution Load Index (PLI) was also calculated to assess the microplastic pollution level in water. The microplastics concentrations in the water of the 6 investigated lakes varied in the 0.15 - 0.65 particles·m-3 range. The PLI index values indicated a low level of microplastic pollution (level 1). The results of the micro-FTIR analyses highlighted the predominant presence of polyethylene and polypropylene polymers in the composition of the collected microplastics. The present study contributes to bridging the knowledge gap regarding the occurrence of microplastics in freshwater.
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