Microplastics in Drinking Water in Qingdao, China

Neal Xiangyu Ding, Organization Not Listed, Qingdao, China, Min Zhang, Ocean University of China, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qingdao, 266100, Qingdao, China, Jinfeng Ding, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, 266061, Key Lab of Marine Bioactive Substances, China, Fenghua Jiang, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China and Jingxi Li, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, 266061, Key Lab of Marine Bioactive Substances, Qingdao, China
Abstract:
Microplastic has become a worldwide environmental problem due to its potential threat to the ecosystem. The findings that microplastics are in table salt, seafood and some drinking water systems have attracted a lot of research attention. In this study, we investigated the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in tap water and two other important water sources in Qingdao, China. The results show that the microplastics abundance in tap water and water sources was 0.3-1.6 items/L and 0.2-0.7 items/L, respectively. The microplastic sizes ranged between 10-5000 μm, with fiber being the dominant shape. The colors are black, gray, blue, or transparent. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer with attenuated total reflection (ATR-μ-FT-IR) showed that the most common polymer types were rayon (48.9%) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (29.6%). Microplastics in tap water and water sources differed in size and polymer types but show good correlation. Further analysis indicates that human activities and atmospheric deposition contributed to the microplastics in water sources. No significant risk was found so far.
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