Micro- and mesoplastic pollution along the coast of Peru.

Environmental science and pollution research international 2023 Jun

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Peru suffers from poor solid waste and coastal management, as well as evidenced plastic pollution in various forms. However, studies in Peru focusing on small plastic debris (i.e., meso- and microplastics) are still limited and inconclusive. Thus, the present study investigated the abundance, characteristics, seasonality, and distribution of small plastic debris along the coast of Peru. The abundance of small plastic debris is predominantly driven by specific locations, where a source of contamination is present, rather than presenting seasonal patterns. Meso- and microplastics were strongly correlated in both seasons (summer and winter), suggesting meso-plastic constantly breaking down as microplastic sources. Additionally, heavy metals (e.g., Cu, Pb) were found in low concentrations (mean concentrations < 0.4%) on the surface of some mesoplastics. Here, we provided a baseline on the multiple factors involving small plastic debris on the Peruvian coast and preliminarily identify associated contaminants. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Gabriel Enrique De-la-Torre, Carlos Ivan Pizarro-Ortega, Diana Carolina Dioses-Salinas, Victor Vasques Ribeiro, Damarisch Fernanda Urizar Garfias Reyes, Mohamed Ben-Haddad, Md Refat Jahan Rakib, Sina Dobaradaran. Micro- and mesoplastic pollution along the coast of Peru. Environmental science and pollution research international. 2023 Jun;30(27):71396-71408