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Effects of environmentally relevant mixtures of microplastics on terrestrial organisms
Summary
Researchers tested the effects of environmentally realistic microplastic mixtures on the earthworm Eisenia andrei and the springtail Folsomia candida as soil model organisms. Even at environmentally relevant concentrations, the microplastic mixture caused measurable negative effects on soil organism health and reproduction.
Soils are considered important sinks for microplastics (MPs), however, little is known about the effects of environmentally relevant mixtures of MPs on soil biota. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a mixture of MPs on two soil model organisms, the earthworm Eisenia andrei and the springtail Folsomia candida. For this, high density polythylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) fragments (50-845 µm) were generated from recycled plastic pellets, and polyester (PES) fibres (50-3887 µm). Chronic toxicity tests were conducted following the OECD guidelines 222 and 232 for earthworms and springtails, respectively, using LUFA 2.2 natural standard soil. The organisms were exposed to a mixture of 55 Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/558962/document