Micropollutants and Endocrine Disruptors from Agricultural Areas

"Agriculture is one of the most important sectors that has maintained its value since the creation of mankind and is the basic and indispensable element of the food supply, which is crucial for humans and other living organisms. Within itself, agriculture is divided into three main branches as crop production, animal production and aquaculture, but particularly plant and animal production appear as two branches that complement each other. The inputs used in agricultural production to increase production and improve quality have become the subject of discussion over time due to their negative environmental impacts and the search for alternatives to them is still ongoing. While the search for alternatives to the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides is continuing, microplastic pollution has also been added to these in recent years. Microplastics and endocrine disruptors in agricultural soils, which are a fairly new issue, are plastics used extensively in agriculture. The breakdown of plastics into smaller particles over time can negatively affect agricultural soils and therefore production. Agricultural soils are considered as “hot spots” of plastic particles. A standardised method of microplastic determination in soils has not yet been established. There is also a lack of legal regulation in Europe regarding the traceability of the soil environment, especially in the context of microplastic contamination."