Microplastic pollution in the Amazon Basin: Current scenario, advances and perspectives

Jackiely Dos Santos Silva; Mirla Janaina Augusta Cidade; Francisco Dos Santos Panero; Leila Braga Ribeiro; Franciele Oliveira Campos da Rocha

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174150

Microplastic pollution in the Amazon Basin: Current scenario, advances and perspectives

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jun 21:946:174150. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174150. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jackiely Dos Santos Silva¹, Mirla Janaina Augusta Cidade¹, Francisco Dos Santos Panero², Leila Braga Ribeiro¹, Franciele Oliveira Campos da Rocha³

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais (PRONAT), 69301-160 Boa Vista, RR, Brazil.
² Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais (PRONAT), 69301-160 Boa Vista, RR, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR, Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Química, 69301-160 Boa Vista, RR, Brazil.
³ Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais (PRONAT), 69301-160 Boa Vista, RR, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Roraima, UFRR, Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia, Departamento de Química, 69301-160 Boa Vista, RR, Brazil. Electronic address: francieleocr@gmail.com.

PMID: 38909819
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174150

Abstract

The presence of microplastics (MPs) has been reported in ecosystems in the most different regions of the world and rivers have been identified as one of the main means of transporting this debris to oceans. Recent research shows microplastic deposition and accumulation in the Amazon Basin and, despite being scarce, microplastic pollution is ubiquitous in the region. Of the 9 countries that make up the Amazon Basin, only Brazil, Guyana, Ecuador and Peru have published on the topic, with the main focus on biota (58 %). Several Amazon regions such as Northern Amazon in the Far North of Brazil still have no evidence of microplastic pollution with published data. MP abundance ranges from 5 to 74,500 MPs m^-3 for waters, 0 to 8178 MPs kg^-1 for sediment and 0.34 to 38.3 MPs individual^-1 for biota, with nanoplastic scale (<100 μm) in the sediment. Blue and colorless are the predominant colors, mainly from secondary sources (fibers and fragments). The most commonly found polymers are polyamide, polyethyleneterephthalate and polypropylene. Microplastic abundance in aquatic systems is higher than that found in other rivers, such as the Guayas in Ecuador, the Magdalena, in Colombia and the Surabaya in Indonesia and are similar to regions with intense anthropogenic activity such as the Guanabara Bay - Brazil and the Yellow River in China. The precarious basic sanitation structure, urban planning, waste management, combined with the extensive network of navigable waters, are aggravating factors for the increase in plastic pollution in the region. It is necessary to increase research investment on the topic, considering MP quantification, impacts and the relationship with the hydrosedimentological dynamics of the Amazon Basin. The creation and enforcement of laws that minimize the accumulation of these materials is emerging, besides the development of the bioeconomy and sustainable proposals to minimize plastic pollution in the Amazon.

Keywords: Amazon; Amazon Basin; Microplastic; Plastic pollution; River.

Publication types

Review