Detention of Plastic Microparticles in the Drinking Water Treatment System Tomebamba in Cuenca and Mahuarcay in the City of Azogues, Ecuador

Abstract

The manufacture of plastic has increased considerably worldwide. Consequently, environmental pollution caused by large amounts of plastic waste without proper management of recycling techniques degrades into microscopic particles in different natural resources, especially in water sources entering the trophic chain and generating the phenomenon of biomagnification. Therefore, the objective was to detect plastic microparticles through the techniques of Inverted Fluorescence Microscopy and Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for the establishment of areas of higher concentration in the different stages of the Tomebamba water purification system of the city of Cuenca - Ecuador, through the analysis of 99 samples in the sampling points such as catchment, entry to the distribution network and home network. As a result, 100% of samples with observable microplastics with a higher incidence of fibers and fragments with a final average of 18.28 particles per 250 ml and a general range for fibers of 6.31 μm - 4966.77 μm and fragments of 6.95 μm - 243.87 μm. Similarly, the presence of microplastics was established through the analysis of samples taken from the drinking water network in the urban area of the city of Azogues, tested in the laboratory through 60 total samples of drinking water, some taken in the catchment, others in the distribution network and the home networks.

As a result, the study shows the presence of microplastics in the three areas analyzed, with the greatest impact on the household networks, followed by the catchment and finally the distribution network.

For the types of polymers found at each sampling point, a coincidence was found with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyester and polybutylene. Finally, it was evaluated that there is no significant difference between sampling points.