Aaron Lechner, David Ramler, The discharge of certain amounts of
industrial microplastic from a production plant into the River Danube is
permitted by the Austrian legislation, Environmental Pollution, Volume
200, May 2015, Pages 159-160, ISSN 0269-7491,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.02.019.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749115000949)
Abstract: Numerous studies have quantified the amount of plastic litter
in aquatic ecosystems and tried to assess its impacts and threats. This
reflects a rising awareness of plastic as an environmental problem. As a
next logical step, identifying and regulating the sources must be in the
focus of scientific efforts. We report on a spillage of industrial
microplastic (IMP) from a production plant situated at an Austrian
Danube tributary. This is the first identified point source of IMP
litter in freshwater systems. However, due to generous thresholds
established by the Austrian government substantial amounts of IMP are
legally introduced into running waters.
Keywords: Plastic litter; Freshwater; Industrial microplastic; Stream
pollution; Conservation