Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in Sediments and Water of River Soan, Punjab, Pakistan

Plastic debris represents a significant environmental threat, with microplastics (MPs) posing a major risk to water quality. This research focuses on assessing MPs' presence in water and sediment samples from the River Soan during two distinct seasons: winter and summer. Analysis of the samples taken from seven locations showed that there were 318 microplastic particles per 0.25 m² in winter and 500 particles per 0.25 m² in summer. In the sediment samples, concentrations of 2,466 and 2,341 microplastic particles per 20 g of dry sediment were observed during the winter and summer seasons, respectively. A t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the concentrations of MPs in both water and sediment samples. Furthermore, ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of various polymers, including PET, PVC, PS, nylon, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Poly Methyl Methacrylate, Polycarbonate, and Urethane compounds. The findings can aid in enhancing waste management practices in the River Soan area and in modeling the transport dynamics of microplastics in other river systems by incorporating water quality parameters and basin characteristics.