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Open dumping site as a point source of microplastics and plastic additives: A case study in Thailand

The Science of The Total Environment 2024 18 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Atsuhiko Isobe Shinnosuke Yamahara, Shinnosuke Yamahara, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Sujaree Bureekul, Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Suchana Chavanich, Sujaree Bureekul, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Sujaree Bureekul, Haruhiko Nakata, Sujaree Bureekul, Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Voranop Viyakarn, Voranop Viyakarn, Voranop Viyakarn, Voranop Viyakarn, Suchana Chavanich, Haruhiko Nakata, Suchana Chavanich, Suchana Chavanich, Suchana Chavanich, Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Sujaree Bureekul, Suchana Chavanich, Atsuhiko Isobe Suchana Chavanich, Sujaree Bureekul, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Suchana Chavanich, Suchana Chavanich, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Voranop Viyakarn, Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Suchana Chavanich, Haruhiko Nakata, Suchana Chavanich, Suchana Chavanich, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Voranop Viyakarn, Suchana Chavanich, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Suchana Chavanich, Haruhiko Nakata, Haruhiko Nakata, Sujaree Bureekul, Haruhiko Nakata, Atsuhiko Isobe Haruhiko Nakata, Sujaree Bureekul, Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Atsuhiko Isobe Voranop Viyakarn, Atsuhiko Isobe

Summary

Researchers characterized an open dumping site in Thailand as a significant point source of both microplastics and plastic additive chemicals in the surrounding environment. They found elevated levels of microplastics and associated contaminants in soil and water samples collected near the dump site. The study highlights that unmanaged waste disposal in developing countries is a major contributor to localized microplastic and chemical pollution.

Microplastics (MPs) and plastic additive chemicals are emerging pollutants of great concerns around the world. Open dumping sites can be important sources of those pollutants in emerging countries, but little is known about their occurrence, distribution, transport pathway, and remediation approach. This study aimed to obtain the comprehensive dataset on plastic pollution in an open dumping site in Thailand, including (1) the polymer types and organic/inorganic plastic additives in plastic garbage, (2) horizontal distribution of MPs and plastic additives in the surface soil, (3) the effects of soil-capping treatment, and (4) the vertical transport. First, thirty-two plastic garbage collected from the dumping site were analyzed, and a total of 40 organic chemicals (mean: 1400,000 ng/g dw) and 7 heavy metals (mean: 2,030,000 ng/g dw) were identified. The burdens stored in the dumping site were estimated to reach to 3.3-18 tons for organic additives and 4.9-26 tons for heavy metals. In the surface soil analysis, 13 types of polymers in MPs, 20 elements, and 37 organic plastic additives were detected. The pollution levels were significantly higher near the dumping site than at control sites, indicating that the open dumping site is a point source of MPs and plastic additives. Interestingly, a significantly positive correlation was found between the concentrations of MPs and organic additives in soil. This suggests that MPs act as carriers of plastic-derived chemicals. Soil-capping treatment (including removal of some trash) drastically mitigated the contaminant levels in the surface soil, indicating this treatment is one of the effective approaches to control the horizontal distribution of MPs and plastic additives. However, soil core analyzes implied that the vertical transport is still continued even after soil-capping treatment. Our findings provided the comprehensive dataset to support for understanding plastic pollution in the open dumping site.

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