(Micro-)Plastics in Saturated and Unsaturated Groundwater Bodies: First Evidence of Presence in Groundwater Fauna and Habitats

Laura Sforzi, Agostina Tabilio Di Camillo (), Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Diana Maria Paola Galassi, Valentina Balestra, Leonardo Piccini, Serena Benedetta Cabigliera, Samuele Ciattini, Marco Laurati, David Chelazzi, Tania Martellini and Alessandra Cincinelli
Additional contact information
Laura Sforzi: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Agostina Tabilio Di Camillo: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Tiziana Di Lorenzo: Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council of Italy (IRET CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
Diana Maria Paola Galassi: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Valentina Balestra: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Leonardo Piccini: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Serena Benedetta Cabigliera: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Samuele Ciattini: Centro Interdipartimentale di Cristallografia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 5, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Marco Laurati: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
David Chelazzi: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Tania Martellini: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Alessandra Cincinelli: Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia, 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: Microplastic (MP) pollution is a growing concern in every known ecosystem. However, MP presence in groundwaters and the ecological impact they can have on groundwater fauna is still poorly investigated. Here, we assess the presence of MPs in three Italian groundwater bodies, comprising two karst caves and two monitoring bores of a saturated alluvial aquifer. In addition to water samples, groundwater invertebrates were collected to assess their potential ingestion of MPs. For water samples, chemical characterization of polymers was done by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) 2D imaging, while fauna samples were analyzed with a tandem microscopy approach (fluorescence microscopy and FTIR). The abundance of MPs in water samples varied from 18 to 911 items/L. The majority of MPs were fibers (91%), with a mean size in the range of 100 µm and 1 mm. Black, red, and blue were the most abundant colors (30%, 25%, and 19%, respectively). The most abundant polymer was artificial/textile cellulose (65%), followed by PET (21%). MPs were found in every groundwater taxon. Pellets were the most abundant in each specimen (87% on average), while the largest were fragments, with a mean dimension of 26 µm. Cellulose was found to be the most abundant polymer (51%). This study is the first to highlight the presence of MPs ingested by groundwater fauna. Further investigations are urgently required to assess the potential ecological impact MPs can have on the resident fauna in these sensitive ecosystems.

Keywords: plastic polymers; stygofauna; cave; alluvial aquifer; µFTIR; fluorescence microscopy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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