The occurrence of microplastics in marine habitats is well documented and of growing concern. The presence of these small (<5 mm) pieces of plastic is less well recorded in inland water systems. In this paper, we determine a cost-efficient and straightforward method for the collection and identification of microplastics in UK inland waters. We found pieces of microplastic from all sample sites ranging from over 1000 L-1 in the River Tame, to 2.4 L-1 in Loch Lomond. The presence of microplastics in all waters tested suggest it should now be classed as an emergent contaminant, with routine monitoring required.

中文翻译：

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一种用于量化水性微塑料的经济实惠的方法 - 内陆水域中的一种新兴污染物

海洋栖息地中微塑料的存在有充分的记录，并且越来越受到关注。在内陆水域系统中，这些小（<5 毫米）塑料片的存在记录较少。在本文中，我们确定了一种经济高效且直接的方法，用于收集和识别英国内陆水域中的微塑料。我们在所有样本点都发现了微塑料碎片，从泰姆河的 1000 多 L-1 到洛蒙德湖的 2.4 L-1。在所有测试的水域中都存在微塑料表明它现在应该被归类为紧急污染物，需要进行常规监测。