Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 56, Issue 15, Pages 11080-11090Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01828
Keywords
microplastics; uncertainty; validation; bottom-up approach; FTIR; Poisson-lognormal distribution; Monte Carlo method
Categories
Funding
- Universidade de Lisboa
- Operational Program Mar2020 through project AQUIMAR-Caracterizacao geral de areas aquicolas para estabelecimento de culturas marinhas (MAR2020) [MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-0107]
- Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) [UIDB/00100/2020, UIDP/00100/2020]
- Institute of Molecular Sciences [LA/P/0056/2020]
- Integrated Program of SR&TD Smart Valorization of Endogenous Marine Biological Resources Under a Changing Climate [Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018]
- Centro 2020 program
- Portugal 2020
- European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund
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This study provides a detailed evaluation of the uncertainty in quantifying microplastic contamination in sediments. By modeling the systematic and random effects and combining different sources of uncertainty, an objective assessment of environmental contamination can be achieved.
The quantification and comparison of microplastic contamination of sediments are affected by sample heterogeneity and the systematic and random effects affecting sample analysis. The quantification and combination of these components in the measurement uncertainty allows the objective interpretation of analysis results. This work presents the first detailed evaluation of the uncertainty of microplastic contamination quantification in sediments. The random and systematic effects affecting micro plastic counts are modeled by the Poisson-lognormal distribution with inputs estimated from duplicate sediment analysis and the analysis of sediments spiked with microparticles. The uncertainty from particle counting was combined with the uncertainty from the determination of the dry mass of the analytical portion by the Monte Carlo method. The developed methodology was implemented in a user-friendly spreadsheet made available as the Supporting Information. The contamination of sediment samples collected in various inland Portuguese waters was determined, ranging from [0; 160] to [361; 2932] kg(-1) for a 99% confidence level, and compared by assessing if the difference between contamination levels is equivalent to zero for the same confidence level. Several samples proved to have metrologically different microplastic contamination. This work represents a contribution to the objectivity of the assessment of environmental contamination with microplastics.
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