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Abundance, Source Apportionment, and Surface Characteristics of Microplastics in Agricultural Soil in a Flood-Prone Area of Central Bangladesh
Summary
Researchers found microplastics in every agricultural soil sample from flood-prone paddy, potato, and vegetable fields in Bangladesh, with polyethylene film fragments dominating and particle surfaces contaminated with toxic heavy metals including lead, cadmium, and arsenic. The co-occurrence of microplastics and adsorbed heavy metals in food-producing soils creates compounding risks for soil health, crop safety, and groundwater contamination.
Evaluation of microplastic (MP) contamination in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in agricultural soil is vital due to the soil’s central role in basic food production for humans. In this experiment, MP was investigated in the agricultural soils of paddy, potato, and vegetable fields. The MP has been detected in every soil sample and the concentrations were varied from 3.33 ± 5.77 to 46.67 ± 25.17 items/kg with an average of 16.95 ± 11.79 items/kg of dried soil. The measured size range of MP was < 5–0.5 mm. The film-shaped polyethylene (PE) plastic was the major (9.58 ± 6.54 items/kg) type of MP. The principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (CA) have indicated several factors, like flooding, mulching films, and nearby urban areas contributing mostly to the MP concentrations in the soils. The morphological and topological investigation of the MP revealed torn edges, fractured surfaces, and the presence of pits in the MP. In addition, the surfaces of the MP were found to be contaminated by toxic heavy metals, like Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, and As. The synergistic effects of MP and adsorbed toxic metals pose a potential risk to soil quality, food safety, and groundwater contamination.