Alarming Gospić Findings: One Site Contains 89% of the Microplastics Detected

A groundwater sampling site near Gospić contained 89.2% of all priority polymers identified in an investigation into microplastic pollution. Concentrations there reached 737,155 micrograms per liter, creating what the report describes as an alarming pollution zone.

The report, prepared in early August by the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute at the request of Croatia’s anti-corruption office USKOK, examined samples from three wells surrounding an illegal waste dump. Its findings identify serious, localized contamination and point toward the dump as the source.

Researchers used a so-called chemical fingerprint to determine the type and mass of plastic in the water. Two locations on the edge of the dump showed minimal or low contamination. At the third, identified as point K, microplastics appeared in exceptionally high quantities.

Polystyrene provides the strongest link to the dump. The material is widely used in expanded polystyrene, food packaging and disposable plastics. It was absent from samples at two other points but dominated the sample from point K. The report therefore indicates that the pollution likely emerges after groundwater passes beneath the dump, located between the points where polystyrene was absent and where it was found in worrying quantities.

Samples taken from point K on the same day, but at different intervals, showed different results and particle sizes. That pattern suggests the contamination is not constant or uniform. The report says microplastic may enter the groundwater in sudden waves or pulses, most likely triggered by rain, pointing to a nearby open-air source.