Microplastic contamination in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA.
Despite widespread detection of microplastic pollution in marine environments, data describing microplastic abundance in urban estuaries and microplastic discharge via treated municipal wastewater are limited. This study presents information on abundance, distribution, and composition of microplastic at nine sites in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Also presented are characterizations of microplastic in final effluent from eight wastewater treatment plants, employing varying treatment technologies, that discharge to the Bay. With an average microplastic abundance of 700,000particles/km(2), Bay surface water appears to have higher microplastic levels than other urban waterbodies sampled in North America. Moreover, treated wastewater from facilities that discharge into the Bay contains considerable microplastic contamination. Facilities employing tertiary filtration did not show lower levels of contamination than those using secondary treatment. As textile-derived fibers were more abundant in wastewater, higher levels of fragments in surface water suggest additional pathways of microplastic pollution, such as stormwater runoff.
San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804, USA. Electronic address: RebeccaS@sfei.org.
Rebecca
R
Sutton
State University of New York at Fredonia, 280 Central Avenue, Science Complex 340, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA.
Sherri A
SA
Mason
San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.
Shavonne K
SK
Stanek
San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.
Ellen
E
Willis-Norton
San Francisco Baykeeper, 1736 Franklin Street, Suite 800, Oakland, CA 94612, USA.
Ian F
IF
Wren
The 5 Gyres Institute, 3131 Olympic Blvd, Suite 302, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA.
Carolynn
C
Box
D061006:Bays; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D010969:Plastics; D012495:San Francisco; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
D010969:Plastics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Marine debris; Microbeads; Microplastic; Plastic pollution; San Francisco Bay; Wastewater