The microplastic pattern in Turkish lakes: sediment and bivalve samples from Çıldır Lake, Almus Dam Lake, and Kartalkaya Dam Lake

Abstract

Plastic has become one of the most prominent contaminants in recent decades, posing a major environmental threat with critical implications for seafood safety. Thus, we investigated the abundance and characterization of the microplastics (MPs) in the sediment and bivalves from Çıldır Lake, Almus Dam Lake, and Kartalkaya Dam Lake in Turkey. The abundance of the MPs ranged from 19–156 MP kg–1 in the sediments, while 0.75–10.0 MP individual–1 (indiv.–1) in Anodonta sp., 0.16–1.00 MP indiv.−1 in Dreissena polymorpha, 0.50–2.50 indiv.−1 in the Unio damescensis was detected. ATR-FTIR was used to identify four distinct polymer types, with polyethylene terephthalate being the most prevalent. Fiber predominated in bivalve samples, whereas fragments in sediment and MPs were often <500 µm in length. Our data could serve as a foundation for a frequent monitoring routine in Turkish lakes since bivalves are one of the key vectors of MP contamination in humans.