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Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
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Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in long-term biosolid-applied rehabilitation land: An overlooked pathway for microplastic entry into terrestrial ecosystems in Australia
Environmental Pollution2023
28 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Subash Raju,
Subash Raju,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Subash Raju,
Subash Raju,
Thi Kim Anh Tran,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Arjun Singh,
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Thi Kim Anh Tran,
Thi Kim Anh Tran,
Thi Kim Anh Tran,
Subash Raju,
Subash Raju,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Subash Raju,
Subash Raju,
Palanisami Thavamani
Kala Senathirajah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Arjun Singh,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Kala Senathirajah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Kala Senathirajah,
Subash Raju,
Palanisami Thavamani
Kala Senathirajah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Subash Raju,
Arjun Singh,
Kala Senathirajah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Lakshmi Daggubati,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Geetika Bhagwat-Russell,
Raji Kandaiah,
Raji Kandaiah,
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Palanisami Thavamani
Summary
Researchers investigated microplastic abundance and composition in Australian mine rehabilitation land with long-term biosolid application histories, finding that biosolid-applied fields contained 7-86 times more microplastics than unamended control fields. Microplastic abundance increased with successive biosolid applications, identifying long-term biosolid land application as an overlooked pathway for microplastic entry into terrestrial ecosystems.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) efficiently eliminate over 98% of microplastics (MPs) from wastewater discharge, subsequently accumulating them in sludge. This sludge is frequently employed as fertilizer in agricultural practices or land rehabilitation. While there is significant research on biosolid application in agriculture, the discussion regarding its application in rehabilitating industrial zones and MPs contamination is limited. The current study investigates the abundance, distribution, and composition of MPs in rehabilitation land with long-term biosolid-application in Australia. Three minesite fields (designated 1-3), each with distinct biosolid application histories since 2011, 2012, and 2017, and a control field without any biosolid application history, were chosen for this study. The abundances of MPs in biosolid-applied fields 1-3 (6.04 ± 1.92 x 10 MP kg; 4.94 ± 0.73 x 10 MP kg; 2.48 ± 0.70 x 10 MP kg) were considerably higher compared to non-biosolid-applied field (0.70 ± 0.63 x 10 MP kg ). This indicates that the application of biosolids significantly contributes to the presence of MPs in the soil. Moreover, the results suggest that with each successive application, the abundance of MPs increases. The abundance and size of MPs in both biosolid and non-biosolid soils decreased as the soil depth increased. Microbeads were dominant in soils where biosolids were applied (up to 61.9%), while fibres were dominant in non-biosolid soils (accounting for 85.7%). The distribution of plastic polymer types varied among fields and soil depths. Most MPs were microbeads of polyamide (PA), fragments of polyethylene (PE), foam of polystyrene (PS), and fibres of rayon. This research presents evidence that the extended utilization of biosolids results in elevated MP pollution in minesite rehabilitation land, highlighting a frequently overlooked origin of MP contamination in terrestrial settings. Additional evaluations needed to understand ecological risks of MPs in soil ecosystems affected by biosolid application.