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Microplastics in urban soil and groundwater in the city of Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil

IWRA 2023 Online Conference - Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment
Theme 2: Emerging pollutants and groundwater
Author(s): Tamiris Lopez Ferreira, Ricardo Hirata, Décio Semensatto, Juliana G. Freitas

Tamiris Lopez Ferreira, Ricardo Hirata, Décio Semensatto, Juliana G. Freitas

Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Departamento de Ciências Ambientais


Oral: PDF

Abstract

MICROPLASTICS (MPs)

  • Synthetic polymers derived from petroleum
  • Size: from 1 to 5000 μm
  • Shapes: spheres, films, fragments, and fibers

 

OBJECTIVES

  • Characterize the type of soil on the site
  • Characterize the MPs found in the soil and groundwater samples
  • Relate the occurrence of MPs with the physical characteristics of the environment
  • Discuss the potencial sources of MPs in the study area

 

STUDY AREA

Bauru River (Bauru City, State of São Paulo, Brazil):

  • Groundwater: public supply, but without sewage treatment
  • Historical contamination of groundwater by sewage

 

CONCLUSIONS

  • Microplastics were identified in soil and groundwater, predominantly in smaller sizes (0,063 to 1 mm)
  • Shapes: Groundwater: fibers > fragments, Soil: only fibers
  • Color: Saturated zone: Preponderance of colored fibers, Unsaturated zone: Preponderance of transparent fibers
  • Different sources of contamination for the unsaturated zone and saturated zone.

January 17th, 2023, 17:35 CET

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