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Polyethylene microplastics influence the transport of organic contaminants in soil
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Laboratory experiments showed that polyethylene microplastics in soil altered the transport and distribution of organic contaminants, acting as secondary carriers that changed contaminant mobility through the soil matrix. The findings suggest microplastics in agricultural soils could inadvertently redistribute pesticides and other pollutants, with implications for groundwater quality.
Plastics are now found in all natural environments including soil. The effects of microplastics in terrestrial systems, however, remain largely unexplored. Polyethylene is one of the mass-manufactured polymers found in terrestrial environments. It is used in many different sectors, for example in agricultural mulches, composite materials, and packaging. The presence of microplastics in soil, including polyethylene, can affect the transport of hydrophobic organic pollutants including pesticides. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of polyethylene microplastics (<250 μm) on the transport of two selected organic plant-protection agents (atrazine and 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) butyric acid) in soil under different aqueous conditions, using inverse liquid chromatography. The distribution coefficients for the sorbates that were sorbed to pure polyethylene microplastic were found to be significantly smaller than those for the sorbates sorbed to pure soil. The addition of 10% (w/w) polyethylene to the soil therefore led to an overall reduction in sorption, but the sorption trends due to variations in pH and ionic strength were not affected. The results imply that the presence of polyethylene microplastics in soil may therefore increase the mobility of organic contaminants by reducing the sorption capacity of natural soils, which must be validated by further research.
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