Microplastics in fluvial sediments in the Rimac River low basin, Peru

Abstract

Microplastics are present in the environment, especially in aquatic ecosystems, and are of priority interest due to their level of risk. This problem arises from poorly managed plastic waste which mostly ends up in dumps, rivers, lakes, and oceans, generating microplastics through physical and chemical degradation. Likewise, the discharges of domestic and industrial effluents increase the presence of microplastics in rivers. This research is the first study on microplastics developed in the lower basin of the Rímac river in the years 2017 and 2018 in the Lima region, Peru.
The results show 97 microplastic particles collected in November 2017 and 2982 microplastic particles in August 2018. The predominant forms of microplastics correspond to fragments, films, filaments, and spherules. Microplastics present in sediments are associated with solid wastes found in the riverbed and the discharge of effluents into the river. These results are worrying because the Rimac river would be contaminated by microplastics, moreover knowing that this river is an important source of freshwater for the different activities in the great city of Metropolitan Lima.