Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

[Relationships Between Microplastic and Surrounding Soil in an E-Waste Zone of China].

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in soils around an e-waste dismantling zone in China, finding that plastic particles had distinct properties compared to those in less contaminated nearby soils, and that microplastic abundance correlated with other soil pollution indicators. E-waste processing sites are emerging as significant but understudied sources of microplastic soil contamination.

2021 PubMed 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil microplastic pollution in an e-waste dismantling zone of China

Researchers developed a new method to assess microplastic pollution in soils near an electronic waste dismantling zone in China. They found significantly elevated microplastic concentrations in soils around e-waste processing sites compared to control areas, with common polymers matching materials used in electronic equipment. The study identifies e-waste recycling as a previously underrecognized source of terrestrial microplastic contamination.

2020 Waste Management 203 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of polyethylene-microplastic on environmental behaviors of metals in soil

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect the adsorption, desorption, and bioavailability of heavy metals in soil. They found that adding microplastics altered how metals bind to soil particles and increased the mobility of certain metals like cadmium and lead. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in soils may change the environmental behavior of heavy metals, potentially increasing their availability to plants and soil organisms.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 93 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Microplastics and Associated Heavy Metals in Urban Soils Affected by Anthropogenic Littering: Distribution, Spatial Variation, and Influence of Soil Properties

Researchers sampled soils across residential, commercial, and industrial land-use types in urban areas and found microplastics in every location, with polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyamide as the dominant polymer types, at concentrations up to 850,000 particles per kilogram. Heavy metals were also associated with the plastic particles, meaning microplastics in urban soil may serve as combined carriers of chemical toxicants. The findings highlight urban soil as a major but underappreciated reservoir of microplastic pollution.

2023 Soil and Sediment Contamination An International Journal 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Microplastics on the Adsorption and Desorption Properties of Cadmium in Soil

Polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics were found to reduce soil's capacity to adsorb cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, raising concerns that microplastic contamination in farmland soils could increase the mobility and risk of heavy metal pollutants.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polyethylene microplastics on bioavailability and toxicity of metals in soil

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect the bioavailability and toxicity of copper and nickel in soil using earthworms as test organisms. They found that adding microplastics to contaminated soil increased the bioavailability of the metals and enhanced their toxic effects on the earthworms. The study suggests that microplastics in soil can worsen heavy metal pollution by making metals more accessible and harmful to soil-dwelling organisms.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Cadmium and copper absorption by Eisenia fetida in the presence of different concentrations of microplastics

Researchers exposed earthworms (Eisenia fetida) to soil containing tire-derived microplastics alongside heavy metals cadmium and copper, finding that the microplastics increased the worms' uptake of both toxic metals. The results suggest that microplastics in soil act as carriers that make heavy metal contamination more bioavailable and dangerous for soil-dwelling organisms.

2023 Journal of Environmental Health Engineering
Article Tier 2

Assessment of soil microplastics: An overview on toxicity, effects on heavy metals adsorption, solid-phase extraction, and detection techniques

This review examined how microplastics in soil enter the food chain and pose human health risks, with particular attention to their role as carriers for heavy metals. Agricultural practices like plastic mulching and sewage sludge application were identified as major sources of soil MP contamination.

2025 Sustainable Environment
Article Tier 2

Insight into the interactions between microplastics and heavy metals in agricultural soil solution: adsorption performance influenced by microplastic types

Environmental-simulating microplastics (aged under environmental conditions) showed higher cadmium and chromium adsorption capacity than commercial microplastics in agricultural soil solutions, with surface oxidation increasing adsorption—suggesting that aged microplastics are more effective co-transporters of heavy metals in contaminated agricultural soils.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastic contamination by metals in a controlled environment: A risk to be considered

Researchers found that polyethylene terephthalate microplastics readily adsorb nickel, copper, and zinc metals in aquatic environments, demonstrating that degraded plastics can act as carriers for metal contaminants and pose compounded environmental risks.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Metals' Adsorption Onto Environmental Microplastics at Shoreline Sediments

Metal adsorption onto microplastics collected from shoreline environments was measured, revealing that weathered plastic particles accumulate heavy metals like lead, copper, and zinc. The results confirm that shoreline microplastics act as metal-enriched vectors that could pose risks to organisms ingesting them.

2025 X-Ray Spectrometry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Heavy Metals with Plastic Contaminated Soil

This study reviews and investigates how microplastic contamination in soil interacts with heavy metals, finding that plastic particles alter soil behavior and can change how toxic metals move through and bind to soil. Because microplastics increase soil permeability and adsorb metals, their presence in landfills and near industrial sites raises concern about groundwater contamination from combined plastic and metal pollution.

2023 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics can affect soil properties and chemical speciation of metals in yellow-brown soil

Researchers added five polymer types (LLDPE, PA, PU, PS, LDPE) at various concentrations to yellow-brown soil and measured their effects on soil physicochemical properties and the speciation of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. MPs shifted heavy metal distribution toward more bioavailable fractions, suggesting that microplastic contamination can increase the extractability and potential toxicity of co-occurring metals in soil.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Different Microplastic Forms on pH and Mobility of Cu2+ and Pb2+ in Soil

Researchers investigated how different microplastic forms influence soil pH and the mobility of copper and lead ions, finding that microplastics' surface properties and electrostatic interactions can modify heavy metal sorption and alter the soil microenvironment.

2022 Molecules 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Adsorption and Their Mechanisms of Heavy Metal in Soil By Microplastics

This review examines how microplastics adsorb heavy metals in soil environments, summarizing mechanisms including electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, and hydrophobic interactions that make MPs effective vectors for metal transport and bioavailability.

2025 International journal of agriculture and food sciences research.
Article Tier 2

[Characteristics and Mechanism of Cd Release and Transport in Soil Contaminated with PE-Cd].

Researchers investigated how polyethylene (PE) microplastics affect the sorption and transport of cadmium (Cd) in soil, examining the characteristics and mechanisms of Cd release under PE contamination. Their findings reveal that microplastics alter soil physicochemical properties and sorption capacity, influencing heavy metal mobility and distribution in terrestrial ecosystems.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Traditional microplastics alter microbial community, metabolites and nutrition in heavy metal-contaminated coastal saline soil

Researchers added three types of microplastics to coastal soil already contaminated with heavy metals (cadmium, copper, and zinc), finding that the plastics altered soil chemistry, shifted microbial communities, disrupted metabolic pathways, and changed how available the toxic metals were to organisms. These findings suggest microplastics can worsen existing heavy metal pollution by changing how metals move through soil ecosystems.

2025 Communications Earth & Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of soil heavy metal forms and bioavailability to the application of microplastics across five years in different soil types

Researchers conducted a five-year experiment examining how microplastics affect the chemical forms and bioavailability of heavy metals across five different soil types. They found that microplastics generally reduced the readily available forms of heavy metals while increasing the mineral- and organic-bound forms, and that the bioconcentration of chromium and lead decreased substantially. The study suggests that soil type and exposure duration both play important roles in how microplastics influence heavy metal behavior in soils.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals: unveiling the impact of microplastics on lead sorption and desorption in soil

Researchers conducted batch experiments to examine how high-density polyethylene microplastics affect the adsorption and desorption of lead in agricultural soil under different conditions, finding that equilibrium was reached within 120 minutes and that microplastics altered lead sorption kinetics. The presence of HDPE microplastics changed soil's capacity to retain or release lead, which has implications for heavy metal mobility and crop uptake in contaminated farmland.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyvinyl chloride microplastics reduce Cd(II) adsorption and enhance desorption with soil-dependent mechanisms

The study investigated how polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics affect cadmium adsorption and desorption in two different soil types. Researchers found that PVC reduced cadmium adsorption and promoted its release back into the soil, potentially increasing its bioavailability and environmental risk.

2024 Environmental Technology & Innovation 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics and the association of heavy metals with microplastics in suburban soil of central China

Microplastics in suburban soils of central China were characterized across three land-use types, with woodland containing the highest concentrations (4.1×10³ particles/kg) and 81.7% of particles under 100 μm, while XRF analysis confirmed heavy metals were enriched on plastic surfaces compared to surrounding soil. The study confirms that smaller microplastics are the dominant form and can act as carriers for heavy metal contamination in urban-adjacent soils.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 572 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in soils with contrasting texture, organic carbon and mineralogy: changes in cadmium adsorption forms and their mobility in soil columns

This study investigated how high-density polyethylene microplastics alter the behavior of cadmium — a toxic heavy metal — in soils with different textures, organic carbon contents, and mineral compositions. Using soil column experiments, researchers found that microplastics changed how cadmium binds to soil particles and how easily it leaches downward, with effects varying depending on the soil type and microplastic particle size. Since cadmium is a known carcinogen and agricultural soils commonly contain both microplastics and heavy metals, understanding their interactions is critical for food safety.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption Characteristics of Cd and Pb on Microplastic Films Generated in Agricultural Environment

Korean researchers found that agricultural microplastic films (used in greenhouses and mulching) can adsorb heavy metals like cadmium and lead onto their surfaces. This means microplastics in farm soils can accumulate and transport toxic metals, potentially contaminating crops and groundwater.

2021 Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential of Adsorption of Diverse Environmental Contaminants onto Microplastics

Researchers assessed the ability of four common types of microplastics to adsorb hazardous environmental contaminants including dyes and heavy metals. They found that dyes were adsorbed through physical processes while heavy metal adsorption varied by plastic type, with polystyrene showing the highest capacity for certain metals. The study confirms that microplastics can act as vectors for diverse pollutants, potentially increasing the environmental mobility and bioavailability of toxic substances.

2022 Water 43 citations