Contaminação de canais urbanos por microplástico em uma capital da Amazônia

Abstract

The socio-environmental problems faced in several cities in the Amazon region are, in part the result of the precariousness or absence of basic sanitation services. The city of Macapá, state of Amapá, has the national indexes in the provision of set of services linked to basic sanitation, among such services the collection and treatment of sewage and the adequate disposal of solid waste such as plastic material. With this comes the objective of this study, which is to evaluate the presence, quantity and types of microplastics in urban canals in the municipality, as well as to analyze the importance of environmental variables in relation to the quantity and distribution of such particles. For this purpose, water samples were collected with a Van Dorn bottle and sediment with a Van Veen dredger from five urban canals. The results obtained showed that microplastics were found in all samples. An average amount of 17 ±13MPs/L for water and of 453 ± 345 MPs/Kg for sediments were recorded. The predominant MPs were the fibers in the water samples, with a predominance of sizes smaller than 300 µm and in the colors blue and black. For sediments, fragments were the dominant format, with a greater proportion of transparent, blue and black colors. The data obtained showed the current state of the level of contamination of Macapá’s urban canals, indicating the need for effective public policies for Amazonian cities.