Microplastics in Urban Environments: Sources, Pathways, and Distribution
Due to high-density anthropic activity, the urban environment is regarded as one of the major sources of microplastics (MPs). MPs can be produced in the process of tire wear, landfill and sewage treatment, construction, industrial activity, household laun
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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Microplastics in Urban Atmosphere 2.1 Source and Characteristics of Microplastics in Urban Atmosphere 2.2 Fate and Distribution of Airborne MPs 3 Microplastics on Ground Surface of Urban Environments 4 Microplastics in Aquatic Environments of Urban Areas 4.1 Urban Natural Water Body 4.2 Municipal Sewage System 5 Microplastics in Municipal Solid Waste 6 Conclusions References
Abstract Due to high-density anthropic activity, the urban environment is regarded as one of the major sources of microplastics (MPs). MPs can be produced in the process of tire wear, landfill and sewage treatment, construction, industrial activity, household laundry, and so on. According to recent studies, MPs have been widely detected in urban atmosphere, ground surface dust or soil, and municipal rivers. Due to lightweight and low density, MPs can easily float and transform between different environmental matrices in urban ecosystems. Storm-water runoff is regarded as an important pathway of MP from land to urban rivers or coastal waters. By wind transportation, MPs on the municipal ground surface can be transferred to urban rivers or the atmosphere. After treating sewage treatment plants, concentrations of MPs can be extremely reduced in the discharged water but increased in the sludge. MPs have also been found in landfills and may leak into other environmental substrates. It can be concluded that MPs can migrate and transform among multiple urban environments through physical and biochemical drivers. Distribution and
R. Qiu, Y. Song, X. Zhang, B. Xie, and D. He (*) School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China e-mail: [email protected] Defu He and Yongming Luo (eds.), Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments - Emerging Contaminants and Major Challenges, Hdb Env Chem, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_447, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
R. Qiu et al.
transformation of MPs are closely related to the urban ecological environment and also pose a potential risk on the health of urban residents. More research work needs to fully reveal the source and fate of MPs in urban environments. Keywords Characteristics, Microplastics, Occurrence, Source, Urban
1 Introduction Increasing urbanization is an actual threat to the surrounding environment. The urban environment is characterized by high-density residential and anthropic activity. Since plastic products are increasingly used by urban resident, plastic waste and their decomposition outcome microplastics (MPs) have become an emerging environmental issue of increasing concern. Cities are commonly regarded as one of the major sources of MPs, which mostly include packaging, textile, furniture container, transportation, electronics, and construction materials. These plastic products can be further crushed and fragmented into MPs [1–3]. MPs can be transferred among different environment matrices, such as urban atmosphere, surface grounds (dust), soil, and
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