Quantifying and characterizing microplastics in farmed soils and stream environments

Session: 46. - Plastics in the Great Lakes: Characterizing the Problem and Finding Solutions

Jill Crossman, University of Windsor, [email protected]
Martyn Futter, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, [email protected]
Marco Vighi, IMDEA Water, [email protected]
Mirco Bundschuh, University of Koblenz-Landau, [email protected]
Luca Nizzetto, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, [email protected]

Abstract

It has been suggested that up to 300,000 tonnes of microplastics (MP) are added to farmed soils in North America every year. A primary source of these MPs is believed to be biosolids, grey water, or sludge, which are an important source of fertilizer. It is unknown whether these MPs have any direct or indirect effects on farm soils or whether they are transported to the wider freshwater environment. Since April 2017 we have been quantifying and tracking the movement of MPs at the field scale within the Simcoe Watershed, Ontario, sampling biosolids, farm soils, surface runoff, river water, bed sediments, stormwater and wastewater treatment outflows. Project partners are assessing the uptake and responses of soil and freshwater organisms to exposure of MPs and associated chemicals through laboratory experiments. We are also initiating research programs to develop mechanisms to remove MPs from sewage sludge, with the aim of being able to provide MP-free materials for future farming activities. This information is being combined in a new model of transport, distribution and fate of MPs in soil and surface waters, which will be used to support decision makers when analyzing the implications of different management practices on MP transport and toxicity.

1. Keyword
microplastics

2. Keyword
Lake Simcoe

3. Keyword
monitoring

4. Additional Keyword
Toxicity

5. Additional Keyword
Quantification

6. Additional Keyword
Transportation