Microplastics in freshwater: Review of sampling methods and subsequent analyses

Abstract

Microplastics are present in our environment (in freshwater and marine water, in the air, in our food and drinking water). They are considered an important pollutant since they can take up to thousands of years for these particles to decompose. On the other hand, they can have a negative effect on the health of organisms exposed to them. They can also be the carriers of different sources of pollution through the process of adsorption. Since most of the implemented research on this subject focuses on marine environments, additional investigation regarding freshwater pollution with microplastics can be of interest. This paper gives a brief overview and analysis concerning the measurements of microplastics in freshwater environments.

Keywords

• microplastics
• rivers
• lakes
• sampling
• analysis