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Strain-Dependent Effects of Microplastic Contamination on the Strength and Modulus of Kaolin Clay
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When wildfires burn plastic materials near cities, they create tiny plastic particles called microplastics that settle into soil with the ash. Scientists found that when these microplastics mix with clay soil, they change how strong and stiff the soil is, which could affect building foundations and construction safety. This matters because wildfires are becoming more common, potentially making contaminated soil a bigger problem for communities rebuilding after fires.
With wildfires occurring yearly in the United States, an increased risk of wildfire-induced microplastic contamination is common. Wildfires can generate microplastics from the thermal degradation of plastic materials found near urban areas, which then infiltrate soils as ash deposits. The contaminated soil’s geotechnical properties can differ depending on the contamination level compared to pure fine-grained soil. The effect of microplastics on clay particles and behavior is studied using a simple shear apparatus, with built-in bender element caps, at the California State University, Los Angeles. This paper examines the effects of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) contamination concentration of 10% by weight in kaolin clay samples. Introducing microplastics in the soil may result in changes in cohesion, friction angles, and shear modulus compared to kaolin samples, depending on the strain levels. By using the bender elements from the simple shear apparatus, the kaolin samples with microplastics showed higher stiffness at smaller strains.
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Impact of microplastics on strength parameters of clayey, Sandy, silty soil: A comparative assessment
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Researchers conducted a comparative study examining how three types of microplastics at different concentrations affect the strength properties of sandy, silty, and clayey soils over a 30-day period. They found that LDPE, HDPE, and PVC contamination at environmentally relevant levels altered key soil properties including moisture content, density, and shear strength. The study highlights that microplastic pollution could compromise soil structural integrity, with implications for construction and geotechnical engineering.
Impact of microplastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystem on index and engineering properties of sandy soil: An experimental investigation
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Researchers tested how different concentrations of three common plastic types affect the physical and engineering properties of sandy soil. They found that increasing microplastic contamination significantly altered soil characteristics including liquid limit, plasticity, compaction, and shear strength. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution in the ground could potentially compromise the structural stability of soil used in construction and land management.
Microplastic contamination in soils and its influence on consistency (Atterberg) limits
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This study found that even tiny amounts of tire-wear microplastics mixed into clay-rich soils (like bentonite) can noticeably change how the soil behaves—affecting properties engineers use to determine if soil is safe and stable for building foundations, roads, and landfill liners. While this research focuses on construction safety rather than direct health effects, it matters because microplastics are quietly seeping into the ground beneath our homes and infrastructure, and we're only beginning to understand how they might weaken the soil systems we build our lives on.
Microplastics in soils: an environmental geotechnics perspective
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This geotechnical engineering perspective reviewed microplastic contamination in soils and the terrestrial subsurface, examining how MPs alter soil mechanical properties — including shear strength, hydraulic conductivity, and compressibility — and arguing that geotechnical impacts have been underappreciated in environmental assessments.
Geotechnical Implications of Microplastics: A Review of Their Effects on Soil Mechanical Parameters
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This review compiled and analyzed findings from previous studies on how microplastics affect soil mechanical parameters — including compressibility, permeability, shear strength, settlement, and slope stability — concluding that microplastic contamination can substantially alter geotechnical soil behavior with implications for engineering and construction.
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