Plastic pollution in a stream that runs through a medium-sized city in Argentina

S. TOGNANA; S. MONTECINOS; M. ASCAZURI; A. GRIGERA; R. PONCE; M. GIL; W. SALGUEIRO; C. FROSININI

Lanzarote

Conferencia; MICRO 2022: Plastic Pollution from MACRO to nano; 2022

sciencesconf.org

Plastic waste in freshwater bodies comes, in many cases, from waste generated in citiesand discharged through effluents from treatment plants, storm water discharges or directlydumped into the water body. This work presents results about Langueyú, which is a low-flowstream that receives the discharge from Tandil, a medium-sized city located in the Pampasregion of Argentina. In previous studies, it was found that there is a highly polluted areaof this stream, which is located after the discharge of two wastewater treatment plants.This work is an exhaustive study that includes the quantification of the micro, meso andmacroplastics present in this highly polluted point, and analyzes their possible sources. Samples of water and sediment were extracted from the stream and analyzed. A concentration inthe order of a million microplastics per cubic meter was found in the water, and in the orderof a million microplastics per square meter were found in the sediment. A large amount ofmeso and macroplastics were found in the stream banks. The methodology for the extractionand analysis of the samples was discussed and adapted for each type of sample (water andsediment), the different sizes of plastic waste present (micro, meso and macroplastics), andthe characteristics of the stream. The transport of microplastics at a distance of 3 kilometers from the mentioned point was analyzed, and the influence of the discharges from thewastewater treatment plants on the stream was discussed.