Municipal wastewater treatment plants as sources of microplastic pollution
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54495/Rev.Cientifica.v33i1.493Keywords:
effluent, sludge, emerging, contaminant, microplasticsAbstract
Microplastics (MPs) poses a threat to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems since the 1960s due intensification in global commercial demand for plastics. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are thought to be a major source of microplastics to the environment, but their degree of contribution worldwide as a source is unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the contribution of microplastics to the ecosystems from two WWTPs in lake Atitlan basin. During the months of April to June 2022 eight effluent (E) and five sludge (L) samples were collected from Panajachel’s (PAN) and San Marcos La Laguna’s (SML) WWTPs and identified in terms of abundance, morphotype, and size, 1,913 particles were identified being more abundant in sludge (74%, 0.02 - 81.2 particles g-1) compare to effluent (26%; 0.3 - 42.3 particles L-1). Fibers and fragments were the most abundant microplastics. Our results showed that wastewater treatment plants are source of contamination of microplastics into the aquatic environment, mainly for Atitlán lake. Further work will be required to understand the environmental fate of the discharged microplastics to the lake Atitlan basin and environmental impacts.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Elsa María de Fátima Reyes Morales, Flor Mayarí Barreno Ortíz, Jaqueline Graciela Rodriguez Samol, Joseline Mishelle López Par
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