Microplastics en route: Field measurements in the Dutch river delta and Amsterdam canals, wastewater treatment plants, North Sea sediments and biota

Environmental contamination by plastic particles, also known as 'microplastics', brings synthetic materials that are non-degradable and biologically incompatible into contact with ecosystems. In this paper we present concentration data for this emerging contaminant in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and freshwater and marine systems, reflecting the routes via which these particles can travel and the ecosystems they potentially impact along their path. Raw sewage influents, effluents and sewage sludge from seven municipal WWTPs in the Netherlands contained mean particle concentrations of 68... Mehr ...