Microplastic pollution in surface water and sediments in the urban section of the Vistula River (Poland)

The main hypothesis of this study was that the microplastic (MP) concentration would be higher in the city centre. The MP (<5 mm) abundance and distribution in the urbanized section of the Vistula River were examined. Samples were collected from three different sites: 1) the less urbanized part of the city, 2) the area close to the tributary outlet and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and 3) the city centre. The abundance of MPs in water ranged from 1.6 to 2.55 items L−1, whereas in the sediments, it varied from 190 to 580 items kg−1. The highest MP concentration was observed in the water collected in the city centre. However, in the case of sediments, the most polluted samplewas collected froma sampling point located near theWWTP and tributary outlet. The diversity of the MPs abundance along the river was associated with the hydrological and sedimentological conditions, which was confirmed by the grain size analysis of sediments. The dominant type of MPs in both the water and sediment samples was fibre. The MPs were characterized by Raman spectroscopy as polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and a variety of other materials with different levels of deterioration. The images obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed different disintegration features.Moreover, the SEManalyses revealed the occurrence of adhered particles and diatoms on the surface ofMPs. The adsorption of various elements onto the MPs surface and the adhered particles was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The conducted studies emphasized the significance of the impact of large urban agglomerations, such as theWarsawmetropolitan area, on the concentration ofMPs in rivers. Further studies are needed to better assess, for instance, the precise mode through which MPs in urban regions are transported by rivers to the seas.