Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653

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Science of the Total Environment

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Review

Microplastic pollution in China's inland water systems: A review of

findings, methods, characteristics, effects, and management
Kai Zhang a,b,f, Huahong Shi c, Jinping Peng d, Yinghui Wang e, Xiong Xiong a, Chenxi Wu a,e,⁎,1, Paul K.S. Lam b
a
State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
b
State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
c
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
d
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 51006, China
e
School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
f
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China

H I G H L I G H T S G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

• Microplastics have been detected in

several inland water systems in China.
• Inland waters located in developed
areas of China are seriously polluted
with microplastics.
• Morphological characteristics indicate
microplastics originate mainly from sec-
ondary sources.
• Waste management and implementa-
tion of relevant laws and regulations
should be improved in China.
• Priorities for microplastic research in
China's inland water systems are
proposed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The pollution of marine environments and inland waters by plastic debris has raised increasing concerns world-
Received 5 January 2018 wide in recent years. China is the world's largest developing country and the largest plastic producer. In this re-
Received in revised form 24 February 2018 view, we gather available information on microplastic pollution in China's inland water systems. The results
Accepted 25 February 2018
show that microplastics are ubiquitous in the investigated inland water systems, and high microplastic abun-
Available online xxxx
dances were observed in developed areas. Although similar sampling and analytical methods were used for
Editor: Jay Gan microplastic research in inland water and marine systems, methods of investigation should be standardized in
the future. The characteristics of the detected microplastics suggest secondary sources as their major sources.
Keywords: The biological and ecological effects of microplastics have been demonstrated, but their risks are difficult to de-
Microplastics termine at this stage due to the discrepancy between the field-collected microplastics and microplastics used
Inland water in ecotoxicological studies. Although many laws and regulations have already been established to manage and
Sources control plastic waste in China, the implementation of these laws and regulations has been ineffective and some-
Management times difficult. Several research priorities are identified, and we suggest that the Chinese government should be
China
more proactive in tackling plastic pollution problems to protect the environment and fulfill international
responsibilities.
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

⁎ Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
E-mail address: chenxi.wu@ihb.ac.cn (C. Wu).
1
Address: Donghu South Road #7, Wuhan 430072, China.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.300
0048-9697/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1642 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642
2. Data collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642
3. Methods used in microplastic detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642
3.1. Sample collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1644
3.2. Sample analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1644
3.3. Issues with the microplastic sampling and analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1644
4. Occurrence of microplastics in China's inland water systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1645
4.1. Occurrence of microplastics in lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1645
4.2. Occurrence of microplastics in rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1645
4.3. Occurrence of microplastics in reservoirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
4.4. Occurrence of microplastics in biota from China's inland water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
4.5. Comparison with data from other areas worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
5. Characteristics of microplastics detected in China's inland water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
5.1. Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1646
5.2. Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1647
5.3. Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1647
5.4. Polymer types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648
5.5. Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648
6. Sources, pathways, and fate of microplastics in inland water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648
6.1. Sources of microplastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1648
6.2. Pathways for the transport of microplastics into inland water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649
6.3. Fate of microplastics in inland water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649
7. Effects and potential risks of microplastics in inland water systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1650
8. Plastic management and regulation in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1650
9. Conclusions and perspectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1651
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1651
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1651

1. Introduction 27.8% of the global plastic production (PlasticsEurope, 2016). Although

In recent years, microplastics have been recognized as emerging
contaminants of concern. Microplastics usually refer to plastics b5 mm
in size that originate from the exfoliators used in many personal care
products, sand blasting media, abrasive particles, resin pellets, synthetic
fibers, or from the breakdown of large plastic products (Cole et al., 2011;
Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012). The presence of microplastics has been re-
ported in all types of environments worldwide, from freshwater (Free
et al., 2014) to seawater (Law et al., 2014), from urban to remote
areas (Hirai et al., 2011), and from beach to deep-sea sediment (Van
Cauwenberghe et al., 2013).
Concerns have been raised due to the potential adverse impacts of
microplastic exposure on aquatic organisms. Aquatic animals can ingest
microplastics and choke or suffer from starvation due to pseudo satiety
(Cole et al., 2011). Toxic additives and/or monomers can also leach out
from microplastics (Hermabessiere et al., 2017). Moreover,
microplastics can act as vectors for the transport of other toxic
chemicals, such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs),
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals (Wardrop
et al., 2016). The trophic transfer of microplastics has also been demon-
strated (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Setälä et al., 2014; Su et al., 2016), and
this process poses potential risks to animals at high trophic levels
(Santana et al., 2017).
Microplastics in the marine environment are considered mainly of
terrestrial origin (Auta et al., 2017). It was estimated that 275 million
metric tons of plastic waste were produced in 192 coastal countries in
2010, and 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste ended up in
the ocean (Jambeck et al., 2015). As estimated by Geyer et al. (2017), ap-
proximately 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste had been gener-
ated as of 2015 globally, and only 9% had been recycled, 12% was
incinerated, and 79% ended up in landfills or was discarded in the natu-
ral environment. Therefore, inland waters can be very important for the
transport and accumulation of microplastics.
China, which is the world's largest producer of plastic materials,
produced 89.5 million metric tons of plastics in 2015, accounting for
China's economy has developed rapidly in the past few decades, the
level of waste management is still low, and the environmental aware-
ness of Chinese people is not high. Approximately 27.7% of plastic
waste was mismanaged in China in 2010 compared to only 0.9% in the
United Sates (Jambeck et al., 2015). Therefore, inland waters in China
can be very susceptible to microplastic pollution.
Research on microplastics started relatively late in China. In 2014,
the first microplastic work in China was reported by Zhao et al.
(2014). In recent years, microplastic research has attracted increasing
attention, and microplastic pollution has been increasingly reported in
lakes, rivers, and reservoirs in China and worldwide. Therefore, the pur-
poses of this review are to 1) summarize the current work on
microplastic pollution in China's inland water systems; 2) discuss the
potential sources, pathways, and regulation strategies of microplastic
pollution; 3) assess the potential impacts of microplastic pollution in
China's inland water systems; and 4) identify the research gaps and pri-
orities for future works.
2. Data collection
A comprehensive literature retrieval was performed using all acces-
sible databases, including the ISI Web of Knowledge, Science Direct, and
Google Scholar. Search keywords included “microplastic”, “plastic de-
bris”, “microbeads”, “microlitter”, “plastic fragment”, and “pellets”. The
retrieved articles were then screened by study area, and only studies
in China's inland water systems, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs and
estuaries, were selected. Detection of microplastics in biota from China's
inland water systems was also included. Studies on coastal environ-
mental systems were excluded. A total of 15 articles were retrieved
(Table 1).
3. Methods used in microplastic detection
The procedures used in sample collection and pretreatment in the
retrieved articles are summarized in Fig. 1. Methods used in inland
Table 1
Studies on microplastic pollution in China's inland water systems.

Location Sample Sampling Separation Size Identification Abundance Reference

solution

Yangtze River Estuary Surface water Pumped at a depth of 1 m, 12–20 L ZnCl (1.5 g/cm3) 0.5–5 mm Visually 4137.3 ± 2461.5 particles/m3; 500 to 10,200 Zhao et al., 2014
identified particles/m3
Mingjiang, Jiaojiang, and Surface water Pumped at a depth of 30 cm, 20 L N/Aa 0.5–5 mm Raman Minjiang-A 1245.8 ± 531.5 particles/m3; Zhao et al., 2015
Oujiang estuaries spectroscopy Minjiang-B 1170.8 ± 953.1 particles/m3;
Jiaojiang 955.6 ± 848.7 particles/m3; Oujiang
680.0 ± 284.6 particles/m3; 100 to 4100
particles/m3
Three Gorges Reservoir Surface water Trawled at a depth of 0–30 cm, trawling N/A 112 μm – 5 mm FTIRb Mainstream: 3407.7 × 103 to 13,617.5 × 103 Zhang et al., 2015
distance ~ 400 m particles/km2; tributary estuary: 192.5 × 103 to
11,889.7 × 103 particles/km2
Taihu lake Surface water, sediment, clams Surface water: 0–30 cm for plankton net NaCl (1.2 g/cm3) N333 μm for μ-FTIRc Plankton net sample 0.01 × 106–6.8 × 106 Su et al., 2016
samples, trawling distance 25–2500 m, 5 L for plankton particles/km2; bulk sample 3.4 to 25.8

K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653

bulk water samples; sediment: grabbed using a net samples, N 5 particles/L; sediment 11.0–234.6 particles/kg;
Peterson sampler, 2 kg; clams: collected using μm clam 1.3 to 12.5 particles/g
bottom fauna trawls for surface water
and
sediment samples
Siling Co basin Lakeshore sediment Shoveled at a depth of 0–2 cm with an area of Potassium formate (1.5 1.2 μm – 5 mm Raman b4 to 563 ± 1219 particles/m2 Zhang et al., 2016
400 cm2 g/cm3) spectroscopy
5 5 2
Xiangxi Bay of the Three Surface water, sediment, fish Surface water: trawled at a depth of 0–30 cm, Potassium formate (1.5 112 μm – 5 mm Raman Water: 0.55 × 10 to 342 × 10 particles/km ; Zhang et al., 2017
Gorges Reservoir trawling distance 190–480 m; sediment: g/cm3) spectroscopy sediment: 80–864 particles/m2; fish 0.33 to 1.5
grabbed using a Peterson sampler with an area particles/individual
of 625 cm2; fish: obtained from local fishermen,
35 individuals, 13 species
Three Gorges Reservoir Surface water, sediment Surface water: pumped at a depth of 1 m, 1 L; NaCl (1.2 g/cm3) 48 μm – 5 mm Raman Water: 1597 to 12,611 (4703 ± 2816) Di and Wang,
sediment: grabbed using a Van Veen Grab with NaI (1.5 g/cm3) spectroscopy particles/m3; sediment: 25 to 300 (82 ± 60) 2018
an area of 0.25 m2, particles/kg
Beijiang River River littoral zone sediment Shoveled at a depth of 0–2 cm with an area of NaCl (1.2 g/cm3) N/A μ-FTIR 178 ± 69 to 544 ± 107 particles/kg J.D. Wang et al.,
400 cm2 2017
Urban waters of Wuhan Surface water Pumped at a depth of 0–20 cm, 20 L N/A 50 μm – 5 mm FTIR Lake: 1660.0 ± 639.1 to 8925 ± 1591 W.F. Wang et al.,
particles/m3; river: 2516.7 ± 911.7 to 2933 ± 2017
305.5 particles/m3
Yangtze River Estuary Sediment cores Collected with bottles from top 5–10 cm, 100 g NaCl (1.2 g/cm3) 1 μm – 5 mm μ-FTIR 121 ± 9 particles/kg; 20–340 particles/kg Peng et al., 2017
dry weight
3
Rivers and a tidal flat in Sediment Shoveled at a depth of 0–5 cm with an area NaCl (1.2 g/cm ) 1 μm – 5 mm μ-FTIR Rivers: 410 ± 127 to 1600 ± 191 particles/kg Peng et al., 2018
Shanghai 2500 cm2 the tidal flat: 53 ± 12 particles/kg
Qinghai Lake Surface water, sediment, fish Surface water: trawled at a depth of 0–30 cm, Potassium formate (1.5 112 μm – 5 mm Raman Surface water: 3090 to 757,500 particles/km2 Xiong et al., 2018
trawling distance 2 km; sediment: shoveled at a g/cm3) spectroscopy sediment: 50 ± 50 to 1292 ± 582 particles/m2
depth of 0–2 cm with an area of 400 cm2; fish: fish: 5.4 ± 3.6 particles/individual
obtained from the local fishery administration
department, naked carp, 10 individuals
Middle-Lower Yangtze Surface water, sediment, Asian Surface water: collected using a bucket at a NaCl (1.2 g/cm3) 20 μm – 5 mm μ-FTIR Surface water: 0.5–3.1 particles/L Su et al., 2018
River Basin clams depth of 0–12 cm, 5 L water; sediment: grabbed sediment: 15–160 particles/L
using a peterson sampler with a depth of 10 cm, Asian clam: 0.3–4.9 particles/g or 0.4–5.0
~2 kg wet sediment; clams: collected using particles/individual
bottom fauna trawls
Shanghai Birds Obtained from wildlife rehabilitators and NaI (1.6 g/cm3) 0.5–8.5 mm Visually 364 items from 16 birds Zhao et al., 2016
birder, 17 birds, 12 species identified
3
Taihu Lake Freshwater fish Obtained from local fishermen, 6 species, 20–40 NaCl (1.2 g/cm ) 5 μm – 5 mm μ-FTIR 1.1–7.2 particles/individual Jabeen et al., 2017
individuals for each species
a
Unavailable.
b
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.
c
Fourier-transform infrared micro-spectroscopy.

1643
1644 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
Fig. 1. Sampling and pretreatment methods used in the microplastic studies in China's inland water systems.
water systems are similar to those used in the marine environment.
Generally, samples are collected from the environment and then go
through size selection, digestion, density separation, and filtration
steps. Prepared samples are used for further examination and
identification.
3.1. Sample collection
Microplastics in surface water were collected using Neuston nets
(Zhao et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2015; Su et al., 2016; Zhang et al.,
2017; Xiong et al., 2018), pumps (Zhao et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2015;
W.F Wang et al., 2017; Di and Wang, 2018), or bulk samplers (Su et
al., 2016; Su et al., 2018). The trawling distance using Neuston nets var-
ied from 25 m to 2 km at a depth of 0–30 cm depending on the abun-
dance of floating microplastics and the mesh size of the net were
either 112 μm or 333 μm (Table 1). Surface water collected using
pumps or bulk samplers were taken from different depth in different
works and the volume ranged from 1 L to 20 L (Table 1).
Microplastics in sediment from the riparian zone or lakeshore were
collected using a shovel from quadrats (Zhang et al., 2016; J.D. Wang et
al., 2017). The sampling area of the quadrate varied from 400 to 2500
cm2 and the sampling depth varied from 0 to 2 to 0–5 cm (Table 1).
Microplastics in below-water sediment were collected using grab sam-
plers (Su et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2017; Di and Wang, 2018) or box
corer (Peng et al., 2017) and the sampling area was determined by the
opening size of the sampler (Table 1).
3.2. Sample analysis
Collected samples were subjected to a size selection step using
sieves or filters in 10 studies. The pore size of the sieves or filters used
in those studies varied from 1 μm to 0.5 mm (Table 1). Density separa-
tion was adopted in 13 studies to separate microplastics from denser
matrices and solutions of NaCl (1.2 g/cm3), NaI (1.6 g/cm3), ZnCl2 (1.5
g/cm3), and potassium formate (1.5 g/cm3) have been used (Table 1).
A digestion step using 30% H2O2 was performed in 9 studies before or
after density separation to remove organic interference. After those
steps, treated samples were filtered and particles retained on filters or
sieves were visually examined for suspected microplastics.
Suspected microplastics need to be confirmed instrumentally to
avoid false positives and to identify their polymer types. Identification
of microplastics are typically carried out using Fourier-transform infra-
red spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Pyrolysis gas chromatog-
raphy mass spectrometry (pyro-GC/MS), and their advantage and
disadvantage have been reviewed (Qiu et al., 2016; Shim et al., 2017).
Among the retrieved articles, a subset of the microplastic samples was
instrumentally identified in 13 studies using either FTIR (8 studies) or
Raman spectroscopy (5 studies) (Table 1).
3.3. Issues with the microplastic sampling and analysis
Surface trawling with a plankton net is the most widely used
method for ocean surveys (Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012). It has the advan-
tage of sampling a large area, but small microplastics will pass through
the net. Moreover, different mesh sizes used in different studies result in
difficulty in comparison of the data. A pump or bulk sampler can be used
to collect smaller microplastics, but the sampling area covered is lim-
ited, which may not be representative because the spatial distribution
of microplastics is highly variable. Multiple replicates should be col-
lected from one site if a pump or bulk sampler is used.
Collected samples can be stored in plastic or glass bottles or in plastic
or aluminum foil bags. Blank controls should be included, especially
when plastic containers are used. Bulk water and sediment samples
can be sieved or filtered to reduce their volume before storage, but
small microplastics will be lost. Saturated NaCl solution is most widely
used in density separation, likely because it is cheap and readily avail-
able. However, the density of saturated NaCl solution is 1.2 g/mL, and
thus only low-density plastics can be separated. Solution of NaI, ZnCl2,
and potassium formate can have a density higher than 1.5 g/mL. Thus
denser plastics can float on the surface and be separated. But those solu-
tion are more expensive and may cause pollution problems. In some in-
land waters, algae and plant debris are abundant. Digestion can help
remove some of these interferences, but wood debris is difficult to re-
move. Sieving is sometimes performed before density separation to re-
move large debris that may affect density separation.
After pretreatment, samples retained on filters and/or sieves are vi-
sually sorted with or without the assistant of light microscopes.
Suspected microplastics are identified manually according to their
 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
morphological characteristics. Microplastics usually show distinctive
shapes, texture, colors, and luster characteristics compared with natural
materials. However, false negatives may occur, especially for highly
weathered microplastics. The influence of human factors on visual
sorting is unavoidable and should be acknowledged. Suspected
microplastics can be further identified using instrument. However, in-
strumental identification is time consuming and expensive. Therefore,
this step is usually performed on a subset of the samples in most studies.
Moreover, instrumental identification depends on visual sorting. Very
small microplastics are difficult to handle, which might lead to bias in
identification.
4. Occurrence of microplastics in China's inland water systems
As illustrated in Fig. 2, microplastic pollution has been investigated
in lakes, rivers and reservoirs in China. Geographically, seven studies
were performed in the south and east coastal areas, four studies focused
on the central China area, and two on the Tibet Plateau. The rest two
studies were focusing on freshwater organisms, which are not pre-
sented on the map.
4.1. Occurrence of microplastics in lakes
Lakes are shallow areas fed and drained by groundwater, rainfall
and/or rivers in a catchment basin. Plastic waste generated within the
lake catchment can be transported to the lake and accumulate there.
In China, microplastic pollution has been studied in Taihu Lake, urban
lakes in Wuhan, lakes in Siling Co Basin, Qinghai Lake, and several
lakes in Middle-Lower Yangtze River Basin. In Taihu Lake, the abun-
dance of microplastics varied from 0.01 × 106 to 6.8 × 106 particles/
km2 in plankton net samples, 3.4–25.8 particles/L in pumped surface
water samples, 11.0–234.6 particles/kg in sediment based on the dry
weight, and 0.2–12.5 particles/g in Asian clams based on the wet weight
(Su et al., 2016). Spatially, a high abundance of microplastics in a plank-
ton net sample was observed in the southeast area of the lake, and high
abundances of microplastics in the surface water and sediment samples
were found in the northwest area of the lake. Asian clams were found to
Fig. 2. Inland water systems in China that microplastic pollution has been studied.
1645
bioaccumulate microplastics from the sediment, with bioconcentration
factors (the ratio of microplastic abundance in clams to sediment) rang-
ing from 38 to 3810 (Su et al., 2016). W.F. Wang et al. (2017) studied
microplastic pollution in urban surface waters in the city of Wuhan, in-
cluding 20 lakes and two rivers. In those urban lakes, the microplastic
abundance varied from 1660.0 ± 639.1 to 8925 ± 1591 particles/m3
in the surface water and was found to be negatively correlated with
the distance from the city center. In the lakeshore sediment from the
Siling Co basin in northern Tibet, microplastics were also detected
with an abundance varying from 8 ± 14 to 563 ± 1219 particles/m2,
and riverine inputs are likely to contribute to the high microplastic
levels (Zhang et al., 2016). In Qinghai Lake, the abundance of
microplastics varied from 0.05 × 105 to 7.58 × 105 particles/km2 in sur-
face water, 50 to 1292 particles/m2 in the lake shore sediment, and 2 to
15 particles/individual in fish samples. Spatially, higher microplastic
abundance was observed in the central area of the lake and distribution
of microplastics is likely related to lake current and tourism (Xiong et al.,
2018). In several lakes in the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Basin includ-
ing Poyanghu Lake, Chaohu Lake, Gaoyouhu Lake, Dianshanhu Lake, and
Taihu Lake, microplastic abundance ranged from 0.5 × 103 to 3.1 × 103
particles/m3 in water, 15 to 160 particles/kg in sediment (dry weight),
and 0.4 to 5.0 particles/individual (0.3–4.9 particles/g on wet weight
basis) in Asian clam samples. Microplastics in clams could reflect the
variability of microplastics in the freshwater environment and could
be used as a bio-indicator of microplastic pollution in freshwater sys-
tems (Su et al., 2018).
4.2. Occurrence of microplastics in rivers
A river is a watercourse that drains into other rivers and ends up in
the lakes or the oceans and are important carriers for the transport of
plastic wastes. Riverine inputs have been found to be a major source
of microplastic pollution in the marine environment (Lebreton et al.,
2017). Microplastic pollution has been studied in four estuaries on the
east coast of China, the Wuhan section of the Yangtze River and its trib-
utary, the Han River, the Beijiang River of the Pearl River system, and
urban rivers and a tidal flat in Shanghai. The river estuary is a transition
1646 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
zone between the river and the marine or lake environment under both
riverine and marine influences. In the Yangtze Estuary, the microplastic
abundance in surface water ranged from 500 to 10,200 particles/m3,
which is much higher than that detected in samples from the East
China Sea (0.03 to 0.455 particles/m3) (Zhao et al., 2014). Microplastics
in Yangtze Estuary sediment have also been studied, and their abun-
dance varied from 20 to 340 particles/kg (dry weight) (Peng et al.,
2017). In the Oujiang and Jiaojiang Estuaries, the microplastic abun-
dance in surface water was 680 ± 284.6 and 955.6 ± 848.7 particles/
m3, respectively (Zhao et al., 2015). In the Minjiang Estuary, the
microplastic abundance varied from 1170.8 ± 953.1 to 1245.8 ±
531.5 particles/m3 before and after a typhoon event (Zhao et al.,
2015). In the Wuhan section of the Yangtze River and the Han River,
the microplastic abundance was 2516.7 ± 911.7 and 2933 ± 305.5 par-
ticles/m3, respectively (W.F. Wang et al., 2017). In the sediment from
the littoral zone of the Beijiang River, microplastic abundance ranged
from 178 ± 69 to 544 ± 107 particles/kg on dry weight basis (J.D.
Wang et al., 2017). The average abundance of microplastics in sediment
of rivers in Shanghai was 802 particles/kg (dry weight), and was one to
two orders of magnitude higher than that detected in the tidal flat (Peng
et al., 2018).
4.3. Occurrence of microplastics in reservoirs
Reservoirs are artificial water bodies created by damming a river for
the purpose of flood control, electricity generation, irrigation, and ship-
ping. The hydrodynamic characteristics of a reservoir are similar to
those of a lake. Decreases in the flow rate and dam interception make
reservoirs favorable for the accumulation of plastic debris. Three studies
of microplastic pollution in Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) have been re-
ported. TGR is the largest reservoir in China. Microplastic pollution in
TGR was first reported by Zhang et al. (2015). Microplastic abundance
in surface water varied from 3407.7 × 103 to 13,617.5 × 103 particles/
km2 in the Yangtze River mainstream and 192.5 × 103 to 11,889.7 ×
103 particles/km2 in the tributary estuaries. The microplastic abundance
showed an increasing tendency as the proximity to the dam increased,
and the microplastic abundance was highest in the estuary of the
Xiangxi River, which has the largest catchment area. Zhang et al.
(2017) further investigated the microplastic pollution in the backwater
area of the Xiangxi River. The microplastic abundance varied from 0.55
× 105 to 342 × 105 particles/km2 in surface water, 80–864 particles/m2
in sediment, and 0.33 to 1.5 particles/individual in fish. Higher
microplastic abundance levels were observed in the wet season com-
pared to those in the dry season, and the distribution of microplastics
was related to the hydrodynamic conditions. Di and Wang (2018) sur-
veyed microplastics in the entire TGR from Yichang to Chongqing. The
microplastic abundance ranged from 1597 to 12,611 particles/m3 in
the surface water and 25 to 300 particles/m3 in the sediment.
Microplastic pollution in the surface water was found to be more serious
in urban areas, while microplastic pollution was more pronounced in
sediments in rural areas.
4.4. Occurrence of microplastics in biota from China's inland water systems
Studies carried out in Taihu Lake, Xiangxi Bay, and Qinghai Lake in-
vestigated microplastic residue in biological samples together with
other matrices. In addition, another two works studied microplastic res-
idue in birds collected in Shanghai and freshwater fish acquired from
fishermen from Taihu Lake along. As summarized in Table 1,
microplastics are also present in freshwater biota. Although fish sam-
ples were collected from different areas and are belonging to different
species with diverse feeding habits, the abundance of microplastics
were found to be very similar and within a narrow range (single digit
items per individual), indicating that ingestion of microplastics by fish
shows no correlation with microplastic concentrations in the water.
Microplastics in Asian clams were studied in several lakes and estuaries
in the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Basin and their abundance varied
from 0.3 to 12.5 particles/g (wet weight) (Su et al., 2016; Su et al.,
2018). Asian clams are recommended to be an indicator of microplastic
pollution in freshwater systems due to their correlation with
microplastic pollution in water and sediment (Su et al., 2018).
Microplastics were found in bird samples collected from Shanghai as
well and a total of 364 items were recovered from 16 birds (Zhao et
al., 2016).
4.5. Comparison with data from other areas worldwide
A comparison with literature data from other areas worldwide is pre-
sented in Fig. 3. As there are already a lot of publications reporting
microplastic pollution in inland water systems and marine environment
worldwide, it is impractical to cover all studies. A limited literature was
selected to include research from different geographic region and areas
with different degrees of development. As presented in Section 3, differ-
ent sampling and analytical methods have been used in different studies,
and different units have also been reported for the expression of the
microplastic abundance. The need for the standardization of methodolo-
gies for the environmental monitoring of microplastics has been noted
by many researchers (Filella, 2015; Hidalgo-Ruz et al., 2012; Qiu et al.,
2016). Although direct comparisons might be inaccurate, the studies pro-
vide an overview of the general situation of microplastic pollution.
As demonstrated in Fig. 3, microplastics detected in the surface water
of China's inland waters are much more abundant than those observed in
inland waters from other countries as well as those detected in the ma-
rine environment. The microplastic abundance levels detected in Taihu
Lake and TGR are among the highest reported to date. However, the
microplastic levels detected in the sediment of China's inland waters
are similar to or even lower than those observed in other areas.
Microplastics are less stable in the water and can be decomposed by
weathering (Weinstein et al., 2016), sink to the bottom due to biofouling
(Long et al., 2015), ingested by aquatic organisms (Vendel et al., 2017),
and/or transported with the flow (Isobe et al., 2014). Sediment is an im-
portant sink for microplastics (Nizzetto et al., 2016). Microplastics in the
sediment can reflect historical inputs of plastic wastes (Matsuguma et al.,
2017). Therefore, the microplastic abundance in surface water may indi-
cate the current pollution status, and the microplastic abundance in sed-
iment may reflect the cumulative pollution of microplastics over a long
period. A relatively low microplastic abundance in the sediment in
China's inland waters might be related to lower historical input com-
pared with water bodies in developed countries.
5. Characteristics of microplastics detected in China's inland water
systems
Unlike conventional environmental pollutants, microplastics are
present in the environment as solids with different densities, shapes,
colors, sizes and polymer types, and they contain other inherent and/
or attached pollutants. The environmental fate and effects of
microplastics in the environment can be related to these properties
(Lambert et al., 2017). Previously, fibers were found to be more toxic
than microbeads for water fleas (Ziajahromi et al., 2017). The sinking
of floating microplastics was related to their density, size and shape
(Kowalski et al., 2016; Ryan, 2015). Therefore, many of the properties
of the detected microplastics are measured, in addition to their abun-
dances. The properties of the microplastics detected in China's inland
water systems are summarized in Table 2.
5.1. Size
Size distributions were determined in fourteen studies, and different
size class classification criteria were adopted by different investigators.
Generally, smaller microplastics were found to be more abundant in es-
tuaries (Zhao et al., 2015; Zhao et al., 2014), Taihu Lake (Su et al., 2016),
 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653 1647

Water River
Lake
Marine environment

Abundance (particles/m2)
Abundance (particles/L)

) ) 3) el, ) ) e 9) ) ) ) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) l n l
(1 (2 r( (5 (6 gtz )
d
an ) r( 10 11 (5 (1 (1 (1 (1 (1 (1 ica ea ica
ary ina nn 4) ake an an ( 7 na i (8 r( r( ke es ol rs op 8) ran 9) op 20)
vio ha ( uh vio ve ve La ke
ate
ke ay btr re (1 iter ea (1 ubtr re (
stu Ch ser e c icago ihu
L r Y asin olse hius ser Ri Ri u La Lak vsg La eB u
re e s, e r W e e
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i e aih ai t o w
pe
g
ea
k s
ic g Med S ific s gy
y
iv arie esR sho Ch Ta s of L ow er B ke B e C es R n hin T ng h rea e H face n i p n t
tze
R
est
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or
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a R Q
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ng Go wa idd Go Th iss W Ch est hP
an
ree
N ce ree Sw or
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Ya rb rfa M W So
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or
th
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Sediment

Abundance (103 particles/m2)

Abundance (102 particles/kg)

1) ) ) 3) ) 5) 5) r 7) ) ) ) 9) ) ) ke ) ) ) st 5) of
(2 22 (3 (2 24 i (2 e( ive ) (2 28 10 24 (2 30 15 La 8) 31 32 33 ea ) (3
ary
r( or es a( ak e R 26 a( r( a( e( s( e( g( h( rth 34 ne ine )
ive rvi are ha
gtz n ( nta
rio Se ive are sin ak ter nd si ( Lak on ac no zil ( astli stl (36
stu gR ese ha
m ng uL ai iR ba iL wa a a iu gd be oa ca
re sR rT ain ha aih an Basi O oh gx ain Co ha ce en Ch anad an om Bra e co n c Afri
vi e ii an
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S T r Y ke B an - M g ng fa ls u nam fr s er
R Be rg Ri
v
ine rs we La Xi ine in i
su
r Bo b G ng he
s e st h
ea ut
tze Go ve Lo Sil Q
iss ke Ve
m of eu ac gu h- So
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Ya ree Sw Co
H
Po So
Th idd
M

Fig. 3. A comparison of the microplastic abundance detected in China’s inland water systems with those from inland waters and marine environment worldwide. References: 1. Zhao et al.
(2014); 2. Zhao et al. (2015); 3. Di and Wang (2018); 4. McCormick et al. (2014); 5. Su et al. (2016); 6. W.F. Wang et al. (2017); 7. Su et al. (2018); 8. Fischer et al. (2016); 9. Zhang et al.
(2015); 10. Zhang et al. (2017); 11. Mani et al. (2015); 12. Xiong et al. (2018); 13. Eriksen et al. (2013a); 14. Free et al. (2014); 15. Faure et al. (2015); 16. Anderson et al. (2016); 17. Yonkos
et al. (2014); 18. Law et al. (2010); 19. Collignon et al. (2012); 20. Eriksen et al. (2013b); 21. Peng et al. (2017); 22. J.D. Wang et al. (2017); 23. Horton et al. (2017); 24. Klein et al. (2015);
25. Peng et al. (2018); 26. Su et al. (2018); 27. Ballent et al. (2016); 28. Yu et al. (2016); 29. Zhang et al. (2016); 30. Xiong et al. (2018); 31. Sruthy and Ramasamy (2017); 32. Fok et al.
(2017); 33. Heo et al. (2013); 34. Santos et al. (2009); 35. Martins and Sobral (2011); 36. Nel and Froneman (2015).

and the urban waters of Wuhan (W.F. Wang et al., 2017), but larger be divided into fiber/line, film, granule/fragment, sheet, spherule, and
microplastics were more abundant in Xiangxi Bay and the Siling Co foam. In ten studies, fibers were found to be the most abundant
basin (Zhang et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2017). Su et al. (2018) found microplastics, particularly in the biota. Sheet and fragment
that the size of microplastics in clams was significantly smaller than microplastics were more abundant in the lower reach of TGR and in
those detected in the water but similar to those detected in the sedi- Xiangxi Bay (Zhang et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2017). Shapes can, to a
ment. Mesoplastics were recovered from freshwater fish in Taihu large extent, indicate the parent materials of the microplastics. Textiles
Lake, while only microplastics were recovered from fish samples in are considered a major contributor of microplastic fibers, and washing is
Xiangxi Bay and Qinghai Lake (Jabeen et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2017). an important pathway that releases them into the environment
The concentration of small particles generated during the weathering (Salvador Cesa et al., 2017). Film mainly originates from plastic bags
of large plastic products increased with decreasing particle diameter and packing materials, and foam and irregularly shaped fragments can
(Lambert and Wagner, 2016). Moreover, different size classification originate from the breakdown of plastic containers or other plastic
criteria can also affect the relative abundance of microplastics in each products (Zhang et al., 2015). Spherules can be virgin pellets spilled dur-
size category. Filella (2015) questioned the sizes and numbers of parti- ing transportation and processing (Acosta-Coley and Olivero-Verbel,
cles in environmental research on microplastics and noted the existing 2015) or microbeads used as sandblasting media and abrasives in con-
problems in measuring irregular objects and reporting size distribu- sumer products (Eriksen et al., 2013a). In China's inland waters, spher-
tions. Standardization of the methodologies for measuring and ule microplastics are observed at a low frequency, indicating that the
reporting the size distribution of microplastics is needed for a better uti- detected microplastics are mainly from secondary sources.
lization of the size distribution data.
5.3. Color
5.2. Shape
Ten studies reported the color information of the microplastics.
The shapes of the microplastics were reported in fourteen studies. Transparent microplastics can originate from packaging products such
Based on the morphological characteristics, microplastics can generally as plastic bags, cups, and bottles, which are disposable and have short
1648 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653

Table 2
Properties of microplastics detected in China's inland water systems.

Study area Size (mm) Shape Color Polymer typea Other Reference

Yangtze River Estuary 0.5–1, 1–2.5, 2.5–5, Fiber, film, granule, Transparent, white, black, N/Ab N/A Zhao et al.,
N5 spherule colored 2014
Three urban estuaries 0.5–1, 1–2, 2–3, Fiber, granule, film, Colored, transparent, black, PP, PE, PTFE, PVC N/A Zhao et al.,
3–4, 4–5, N5 pellet white 2015
Three Gorges 0.112–0.3, 0.3–0.5, Sheet, fragment, line, N/A PP, PE, PS N/A Zhang et al.,
Reservoir 0.5–1.6, 1.6–5 foam 2015
Taihu lake 0.05–0.1, 0.1–0.333, Fiber, fragment, film, Transparent, black, white, CP, PET, PES, PP, PA, PE, PS N/A Su et al.,
0.333–1, 1–5 pellet red, yellow, green, blue 2016
Siling Co basin. b0.5, 0.5–1, 1–5 Fragment, sheet, line, N/A PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET Surface texture Zhang et al.,
foam 2016
Xiangxi Bay of Three 0.112–0.5, 0.5–1, Fragment, sheet, line, N/A PE, PE, PS, PET N/A Zhang et al.,
Gorges Reservoir 1–5 foam 2017
Three Gorges b0.5, 0.5–1, 1–2, Fiber, fragment, film, Transparent, white, blue, PE, PP, PC, PS, PVC, VC/VAC N/A Di and
Reservoir 2–3, 3–4, 4–5 pellet, foam red, others Wang, 2018
Beijiang River b5 N/A N/A PE, PP, copolymer, paint Surface texture, J.D. Wang et
heavy metals al., 2017
Urban waters of b0.5, 0.5–1, 1–2, Fiber, granule, pellet, Transparent, blue, purple, PET, PP, PE, nylon, PS N/A W.F. Wang
Wuhan 2–3, 3–4, 4–5 film red, others et al., 2017
Yangtze River Estuary b0.1, 0.1–0.5, 0.5–1, Fiber, fragment, Transparent, blue, black, Rayon, PES, AC, PET, PS, PEPD N/A Peng et al.,
1–5 pellet yellow, red, white 2017
Rivers and a tidal flat b0.1, 0.1–0.5, 0.5–1, Fragment, sphere, Transparent, red, white, PP, PES, rayon, cotton + viscose, N/A Peng et al.,
in Shanghai 1–5, N5 fiber blue, black phenoxy resin, poly(vinyl stearate) 2018
Qianghai Lake 0.1–0.5, 0.5–1, 1–5 Sheet, fiber, Transparent, blue, PE, PP, PET, PS, nylon, PC, EVA Surface texture Xiong et al.,
fragment, foam Green, white, red 2018
Middle-Lower 0.02–0.25, 0.25–1, Pellet, film, fragment, Red, yellow, green, blue, PES, PP, rayon, PE, PET, PA, Lycra, PVC, N/A Su et al.,
Yangtze River Basin 1–5 fiber black, white, transparent PS, PU, 2018
Shanghai 0.5–1, 1–1.5, 1.5–2, Fragment, fiber N/A N/A N/A Zhao et al.,
… 7.5–8, 8–8.5 2016
Taihu Lake b2, 2–5, N5 Fibers, fragment, Transparent, black, blue, CP, PET, PES N/A Jabeen et al.,
pellets, sheets, films brown, pink, white 2017
a
Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), cellophane (CP), Polyester (PES),
Polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), Vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer (VC/VAC), acrylic (AC), poly (ethylene: propylene: diene) (PEPD), polyurethane (PU), ethylene vinyl acetate
(EVA).
b
Unavailable.

lifetimes. Colored microplastics can be derived from packaging products
and from other plastic consumer products that have long lifespan.
Transparent microplastics were found to be dominant in samples from
the Yangtze estuary, TGR, and Qinghai Lake (Di and Wang, 2018; Peng
et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2014; Xiong et al., 2018), colored microplastics
were found to be more abundant in samples from three urban estuaries
and Taihu Lake (Su et al., 2016; Zhao et al., 2015), the colored and color-
less microplastics in Asian clams had a close relationship with those in
sediment collected in lakes and estuaries in the Middle-Lower Yangtze
River Basin (Su et al., 2018), while no particular pattern was observed
in samples from urban waters of Wuhan (W.F. Wang et al., 2017).
5.4. Polymer types
Polymer types were identified in thirteen studies. Polypropylene
(PP) and polyethylene (PE) microplastics were dominant in samples
from three urban estuaries (Zhao et al., 2015), TGR (Di and Wang,
2018; Zhang et al., 2015), the Siling Co basin (Zhang et al., 2016),
Xiangxi Bay (Zhang et al., 2017), the Beijiang River (J.D. Wang et al.,
2017), rivers in Shanghai (Peng et al., 2018), and Qinghai Lake (Xiong
et al., 2018); cellophane (CP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
were more abundant in Taihu Lake (Su et al., 2016); and Rayon and
Polyester (PES) accounted for the majority of microplastics in the Yang-
tze Estuary sediment (Peng et al., 2017). PP and PE are the most widely
used polymers, accounting for 19.1% and 29.4% of the European plastic
demand in 2015, respectively (PlasticsEurope, 2016).
5.5. Others
Two studies examined the surface texture of microplastics using
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and one study using microscope.
On the surface of the microplastics from the Siling Co basin, mechanical
weathering features were found to be more prevalent than oxidative
weathering features, which were related to the windy conditions on
the Tibet plateau (Zhang et al., 2016). On the surface of the microplastics
from the Beijing River, pits, fractures, flakes and adhering particles were
commonly observed (J.D. Wang et al., 2017). More cracks were ob-
served on the surface of PP than PE sheets which might suggest that
PP can be broken down into smaller particles more easily than PE
(Xiong et al., 2018). Changes in surface texture due to weathering can
affect pollutant adsorption and microbe attachment on the
microplastics (Fotopoulou and Karapanagioti, 2012; ter Halle et al.,
2017b). However, how and to what extent changes in surface texture
affect the fate and behavior of microplastics remain unclear. The con-
centration of metals (Ni, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ti) has also been measured
in microplastics from the Beijiang River, and the majority of heavy
metals were believed to be derived from inherent loading (J.D. Wang
et al., 2017).
6. Sources, pathways, and fate of microplastics in inland water
systems
6.1. Sources of microplastics
The plastic industry produces a large variety of plastic products that
are widely used in our daily life. Products such as resin pellets and
microbeads are considered primary sources of microplastics. Resin pel-
lets are raw materials used for the manufacturing of other plastic prod-
ucts. Resin pellets can be unintentionally released into the environment
during manufacturing and transport (Mato et al., 2001). Microbeads are
used in personal care products, such as exfoliators, and in industrial
products, such as abrasives (Duis and Coors, 2016). Microbeads were
detected at levels of 5219 to 50,391 particles/g in facial scrubs sold in
China, and it was estimated that 209.7 trillion microbeads (306.8 t)
are released into the environment every year in China (Cheung and
Fok, 2017). However, resin pellets and microbeads were not often
 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
observed in the detected microplastics in China's inland waters, sug-
gesting that primary sources are of minor importance in accounting
for microplastic pollution.
Other plastic products are extensively used in packaging, textiles,
building and construction, automotives, electrical products and elec-
tronics, agriculture, household products, etc. At the end of their lifetime,
these plastic products are ideally disposed of by recycling, incineration,
or dumping in landfills. However, considerable amounts of plastic waste
have been mismanaged and discarded into the environment through
different pathways (Geyer et al., 2017). Once in the environment, the
weathering process can slowly break down these products, and large
amounts of secondary microplastics or even nanoplastics can be gener-
ated (Lambert and Wagner, 2016; Song et al., 2017).
Among these plastic products, packaging plastics have the shortest
lifetime (Geyer et al., 2017), and they are usually cheap and disposable,
and are commonly discarded into the environment. In recent years, the
express industry and takeout and delivery services have bloomed in
China due to the development of the Internet economy. In this industry,
packaging plastics are heavily used but poorly managed. Plastic
mulching is commonly used in agriculture to increase the crop yield.
In 2014, 1.44 million metric tons of plastic mulch was used in China,
covering approximately 200,000 km2 of agricultural lands, and the res-
idue of plastic mulch in soils varies from 7190 to 25,910 kg/km2 (Yan et
al., 2014). Synthetic fibers, which are widely used in textiles, can break-
down into microplastic fibers during their use. Many studies have
shown that microplastic fibers are generated during domestic washing
(Browne et al., 2011; E. Hernandez et al., 2017; Napper and
Thompson, 2016). Microplastic fibers can also be produced during the
regular use or wearing of textiles, but this process has not been well
characterized. Additionally, rubber particles from the wear and tear of
tires generated during abrasion on roads are also recognized as
microplastics (Kole et al., 2017). In China, the registered vehicle number
exceeded 0.3 billion in 2017 and is still rapidly increasing; thus, a con-
siderable amount of microplastic can be generated during vehicle use.
6.2. Pathways for the transport of microplastics into inland water systems
Domestic wastewater is an important source of microplastics, espe-
cially for microbeads and synthetic fibers. In underdeveloped areas of
China, domestic wastewater is directly discharged into the surrounding
environment with little or no treatment. In urban areas, most domestic
wastewater is collected and treated in wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs). Previously, it was found that a large portion of microplastics
can be removed from wastewater influent, but effluent discharge still
releases a considerable amount of microplastics into the receiving wa-
ters (Mason et al., 2016; Murphy et al., 2016). A large portion of the re-
moved microplastics is retained in the sewage sludge during the
settlement processes of wastewater treatment, and the land application
of the treated sewage sludge can introduce those microplastics into soils
(Mahon et al., 2017). In China, mop pools and washing machines are
usually installed in balcony areas. Therefore, wastewaters from house-
hold cleaning and domestic washing are mostly discharged into the
storm sewer system and can easily get into the receiving waters without
treatment.
Stormwater runoff is another important pathway for the transport of
both macroplastics and microplastics from terrestrial environments to
inland water systems. Mismanaged plastic wastes are usually scattered
near roads, in soils, or in unregulated dumping sites. Although the
scenes shown in Fig. 4 are commonly encountered in China, very little
is known about the transport of those plastic wastes by runoff.
Nizzetto et al. (2016) described a theoretical model to assess the trans-
port of microplastics in river catchments, and it predicts that smaller
than 0.2 mm microplastics and microplastics that are lighter than
water can be poorly retained in a catchment and transported to inland
water systems and the marine environment. Other than plastic wastes
from littering, tire and road wear particles can also be transported via
1649
road runoff. In another modeling study, it was found that tire and road
wear particles accounted for 42% of the microplastics exported by rivers
to seas (Siegfried et al., 2017).
Because many macroplastics and microplastics are light in weight,
atmospheric transport is also an important pathway that carries
macroplastics and microplastics into inland water systems. Wind can
blow away plastic wastes from the ground, garbage dump sites, and
even poorly managed landfills and deposit them in areas far from
their original sites, including inland waters. In atmospheric fallout, syn-
thetic fibers were detected and were found to be the predominant com-
ponent of microplastics in France (Dris et al., 2017; Dris et al., 2016).
Both fibrous and non-fibrous microplastics were observed in atmo-
spheric fallout, with abundances ranging from 31 ± 8 to 43 ± 4 parti-
cles/m2/day in Dongguang city, China (Cai et al., 2017). However,
microplastics may have different characteristics compared with gas-
phase pollutants or other particulate matters, and the atmospheric
transport behaviors of microplastics should be further investigated.
6.3. Fate of microplastics in inland water systems
The fate of microplastics in inland water systems is poorly under-
stood. In rivers, microplastics can be transported downstream with
the river flow. During transport, microplastics can be further broken
down, precipitated to sediment, or washed up on the shore. Those still
in the water will eventually be transported to the ocean by exoreic riv-
ers or into closed lakes by endorheic rivers. In lakes or reservoirs, a de-
crease in water flow velocity facilitates the precipitation of microplastics
that are heavier than water. The sinking rates of microplastics have been
found to be related to the density, size, and shape of microplastics, and
the sinking behavior can be altered by weathering and biofouling
(Kowalski et al., 2016). Weak hydrodynamic conditions also favor the
development of biofilms on the surface of microplastics. Modeling re-
sults predicted that the size-dependent vertical movement of
microplastic particles results in a maximum concentration at intermedi-
ate depths in the ocean due to biofouling (Kooi et al., 2017). The effects
of biofouling on the vertical transport of microplastics in inland waters
are largely unknown, but according to the results of previous ecological
research, factors such as light, nutrient, temperature, and hydraulic con-
ditions are important regulators of biofilm development (Larned, 2010).
Microplastics are subject to further weathering once in inland water
systems. Microplastics floating on the water surface can be photo-
degraded. Photodegradation is considered a primary cause of plastic oxi-
dation, and most plastics are susceptible to degradation initiated by UV
and visible light (Singh and Sharma, 2008). However, turbid water and
biofouling can shade the sunlight and hinder photodegradation. Mechan-
ical stress can also contribute to the degradation of microplastics, espe-
cially for those that have already experienced extensive degradation
and become brittle (Gewert et al., 2015). The mechanical degradation of
microplastics in inland water systems can be related to the hydraulic con-
ditions and the presence of other suspected particles. Moreover,
microplastics can be degraded by microorganisms via solubilization, ion-
ization, hydrolysis, and enzyme-catalyzed degradation processes depend-
ing on the polymer types, molecular weights, microorganisms, and
environmental conditions (Gu, 2003; Singh and Sharma, 2008). The bio-
degradation of plastics is a very slow process but can be accelerated by
abiotic weathering due to the changes in surface properties and textures,
which facilitate the attachment of and attack by microorganisms (Welden
and Cowie, 2017). Currently, most knowledge regarding the degradation
of plastics originates from material and polymer science, but more work is
needed to better understand plastic weathering in the environment.
Microplastics in inland water systems can be ingested by aquatic or-
ganisms, as demonstrated in many laboratory studies and field observa-
tions (Cole et al., 2013; Jabeen et al., 2017; Silva-Cavalcanti et al., 2017).
The ingestion of microplastics by aquatic animals is a major concern due
to the potential to cause adverse effects. It was also suggested that the
ingestion and subsequent egestion of microplastics by aquatic animals
1650 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
Fig. 4. Plastics and other wastes on the ground surface of the Three Gorges Reservoir area.
could combine to cause the sinking of floating microplastics (Cole et al.,
2016; Katija et al., 2017). The bioaccumulation and biomagnification
processes of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems are poorly understood.
Although studies have shown that microplastic bioaccumulation and
trophic transfer are possible (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Setälä et al.,
2014; Su et al., 2016), some studies have indicated that microplastics
can be rapidly excreted (Grigorakis et al., 2017; Santana et al., 2017). Re-
gardless of whether microplastics are retained in aquatic animals, a con-
siderable amount of microplastic enters the aquatic environment and
can be expected to be found in aquatic animals. Furthermore, the degra-
dation of microplastics in the digestive tract of aquatic animals might
also be possible due to the peristalsis of the intestines and stomach
and the presence of intestinal fluids and microorganisms (Yang et al.,
2015).
7. Effects and potential risks of microplastics in inland water
systems
The impacts of macroplastics and microplastics on aquatic organ-
isms have been reviewed in several articles (Auta et al., 2017; Chae
and An, 2017; Duis and Coors, 2016; Wright et al., 2013). The reported
effects include abrasions and ulcers, blockages of the digestive tract, in-
creased mortality, decreased fecundity, inflammatory response, alter-
ations of metabolism, feeding modifications, reproductive disruption,
changes in behavior, decreased energy reserves, release of toxic
monomers and/or additives, and vectors for other contaminants.
These effects are influenced by the size, shape, and polymer types of
the microplastics. However, all studies reported that negative effects re-
quired much higher microplastic concentrations than those detected in
environmental samples. Standard microbeads are typically used in
ecotoxicity studies, and they cannot reflect the effects of morphological
features (e.g. due to weathering) of field-collected microplastics. Many
researchers have expressed concerns about current ecotoxicological
studies of microplastics and pointed to the need for improving the reli-
ability and relevance of environmental research on microplastics
(Connors et al., 2017; Lambert et al., 2017; Lenz et al., 2016).
Other than the biological impacts on individual organisms, the eco-
logical impacts of macroplastics and microplastics have also been well
documented (Rochman et al., 2016). For example, discarded plastic
bags create anoxic conditions within the sediment, reduce primary pro-
ductivity and organic matter, and lower the abundances of infaunal in-
vertebrates (Green et al., 2015). The presence of PS may affect the
bacterial composition in aquatic environments (Kesy et al., 2016).
Microplastic exposure can affect the filtration of Ostrea edulis and
Mytilus edulis and decrease porewater ammonium concentrations and
the benthic cyanobacteria biomass (Green et al., 2017). It is recom-
mended that the ecological impacts of microplastics, such as multigen-
erational impacts and changes in biodiversity, community structure,
and ecosystem function, be investigated in the future to guide mitiga-
tion efforts (Rochman, 2016).
Although many studies have demonstrated the effects of
microplastics, these associated data cannot be used directly to perform
risk assessments due to the discrepancy between field-collected
microplastics and the microplastics used in the ecotoxicological studies,
as discussed above. If based on the abundance of microplastics alone,
the risks of microplastics are relatively low in the investigated inland
waters in China and other counties. However, the morphological fea-
tures of microplastics and microplastic-borne contaminants should be
more carefully considered in future ecotoxicological studies. Addition-
ally, nanoplastics, which are often more toxic than macroplastics, have
not been monitored due to the limitations of the current sampling and
analytical methods (Mattsson et al., 2015). Nonetheless, recent studies
have confirmed the presence of nanoplastics in personal care products
and the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (L.M. Hernandez et al., 2017;
ter Halle et al., 2017a). Therefore, further development of appropriate
methodology is required to quantify nanoplastics in the environment
and assess their fate and effects in the future.
8. Plastic management and regulation in China
Plastic wastes are considered solid wastes and are generally man-
aged in accordance to solid waste-related legislation. Overall, solid
 K. Zhang et al. / Science of the Total Environment 630 (2018) 1641–1653
wastes are managed under the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) im-
plemented in 1979, which is the first environmental legislation of the
People's Republic of China. After several amendments, the latest version
of the EPL was implemented in 2015, and it emphasizes the sorting, sep-
aration, and recycling of municipal solid waste; using environmentally
friendly and renewable products; reducing waste generation; promot-
ing clean production and the recycling of resources; and construction
of infrastructure for solid waste collection, transport, and disposal. Spe-
cifically, solid wastes are managed by the Law on the Prevention and
Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste (LPCEPSW)
established in 1995. The latest version of the LPCEPSW was revised in
2016. In this law, the selection and use of domestic waste disposal
sites are regulated; overpackaging is discouraged; littering in rivers,
lakes, and reservoirs is forbidden; and the development of clean pro-
duction and circular economy is promoted. In addition to the EPL and
LPCEPSW, other legislations, such as the Law on Marine Environmental
Protection, Law on Promoting Clean Production, and Law on Circular
Economy Promotion, include relevant provisions regarding the man-
agement of solid wastes, are relevant.
In addition to those national laws, there are several regulations that
are closely related to the control of plastic wastes. In 2001, the State Eco-
nomic and Trade Commission (SETC) announced the immediate cessa-
tion of the production and use of disposable foam plastic tableware
(SETC, 2001). In 2007, the General Office of the State Council (GOSC) re-
stricted the production, sale, and use of plastic shopping bags; banned
ultrathin plastic bags (b0.025 mm) and implemented charges for the
use of other plastic bags in market places beginning in June 1, 2008
(GOSC, 2007). In 2012, the Prevention and Control of Waste Plastic Pro-
cessing and Utilization regulation was established to regulate the poten-
tial pollution during the recycling process of plastic wastes. In 2017,
GOSC promulgated a new regulation on waste import (GOSC, 2017). Im-
port of 24 types of waste has been banned, including plastic waste de-
rived from daily use. Other regulations, such as the Management
Methods for the Import of Solid Waste and Management Methods for
the Environmental Pollution of Electronic Waste, also help address
some plastic waste management issues.
Although many laws and regulations already exist regarding the
management and control of plastic waste in China, the implementation
of these laws and regulations has been largely ineffective and some-
times difficult. For instance, illegal dumping is difficult to stop in rural
and undeveloped areas of China. Ultra-thin plastic bags are still com-
monly used in small markets or by small private businesses. It is difficult
to promote waste classification, which influences the subsequent
recycling of plastic waste. The extensive use of plastics in emerging in-
dustries, such as the express industry and takeout and delivery services,
is not yet regulated, and these issues have already caused serious pollu-
tion problems. The use of microbeads in personal care products is still
allowed in China, while regulations on microbeads have already been
passed in many developed countries, such as the United States, Canada,
New Zealand, the Netherlands and Ireland. The Chinese government
needs to be more proactive in tackling plastic pollution problems to pro-
tect the environment and fulfill international responsibilities.
9. Conclusions and perspectives
A review of the available literature indicates that microplastic pollu-
tion is ubiquitous in the investigated inland water systems in China. In-
land waters located in the developed areas of China are seriously
polluted, with microplastic abundances among the highest ever re-
ported. Microplastics from different inland waters showed different
characteristics, but all indicate secondary origins as their primary
sources. The poor management and inadequate enforcement of relevant
laws and regulations have partially led to the current status of
microplastic pollution in China. In recent years, microplastics have be-
come a hot topic in environmental research, but many technical
1651
issues/problems still need to be resolved. In China's inland water sys-
tems, the following issues of priority should be addressed:
1. Develop standardized analytical methods for the reliable identifica-
tion and quantification of microplastics and nanoplastics in different
matrices.
2. Investigate the weathering processes and the environmental fate of
macroplastics and microplastics in inland water systems.
3. Characterize the transport pathways of microplastics from terrestrial
sources to inland water systems. Develop and calibrate models for
the assessment of microplastic accumulation in inland waters and
riverine inputs of microplastics to the oceans.
4. Evaluate the effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms from the
molecular to community levels and the associated influence on eco-
system functions. Understand the relationships between the
physico-chemical properties of microplastics and their toxic effects.
5. Develop and promote environmentally friendly and economical sub-
stitutes for plastics.
Advancements on all fronts, including monitoring, research, man-
agement, and policy-formulation, will help researchers better under-
stand the risks of microplastics in inland water systems and guide the
development of mitigation tools and strategies. The Chinese govern-
ment should further improve plastic waste management practices, in-
tensify the enforcement of relevant laws and regulations, establish
new policies targeting emerging sources of plastic wastes, and increase
publicity and education to improve people's awareness of environmen-
tal protection in general, and pollution caused by microplastics in
particular.
Acknowledgements
This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (41501536) and the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology
and Biotechnology (2016FBZ11). Chenxi Wu would like to thank the
Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sci-
ences for support. Kai Zhang would like to thank the Joint Ph.D. program
supported by City University of Hong Kong and the University of Chi-
nese Academy of Sciences.
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