Thanks @UK_CEH!

I’ll be sharing some of my plans for my PhD - Plasticiser in the UK terrestrial environment: occurrence and bioaccumulation?

#WallingfordECRTweets #microplastic #plasticiser #phthalates #plasticpollution #plastic #plasticadditives #soils #ecotoxicology

1/11

Plastic waste is one of the biggest challenges facing the environment. To date, significant research, media and policy attention has focussed on the visible legacy of plastic waste. However, many polymers themselves tend to be relatively inert and so exhibit low toxicity.

2/11

Thus, the toxicity of plastic waste is likely to be determined by the nature and concentration of plastic additives which may be released from the polymer matrix after the plastic enters the environment.

3/11

Plastics contain numerous additives, e.g. plasticisers, which may leach from plastic waste into the environment. Some plasticisers such as phthalates are known endocrine disruptors, yet knowledge of the distribution of these chemicals in UK soils is severely lacking.

4/11

We plan to address 3 key Qs:

Q1) Additive distribution and profile - What is the relationship between land use, plastic waste and additive contamination?

Plan - Sample different land uses for macroplastics and soil-interred microplastics and plastic additives.

5/11

Fieldwork was carried out in Jan/Feb this year - props to fellow students @katiepowell51 & @ClaireBadder for helping to dig soil and pick litter.

Award for the most surprising macroplastic goes to what appeared to be a kitchen sink.

6/11

Microplastics were extracted in Feb/March, with FTIR analysis just about to begin before you-know-what...

The microplastic data will allow us to make predictions as to the plastic additives that may be present.

Data from Q1 will inform choices for next part of project..

7/11

Q2) Rate and persistence - How quickly do additives enter the environment? How long do they persist?

Plan - Establish leaching & degradation rates of additives from plastics in soil, using controlled environments to explore effect of temp, light and moisture content

8/11

Q3) Fate - What is the ecotoxicology of additives in a keystone species of soil invertebrate? Potential for trophic transfer and bioaccumulation?

Plan - Expose earthworms to plastic additives at a range of concs. to derive toxicokinetic parameters of common additives...

9/11

...& determine conc. & composition of additives in birds of prey, e.g. buzzards from UKPBMS. Map geographic location and additive bioaccumulation to assess extent to which additive pollution is tied to the physical location of point sources of plastic, e.g. landfill sites.

10/11

Hope that was interesting for everyone!

Thanks to @ENVISIONDTP, @NERCscience, @UKRI_News, @LancsUniLEC & @UK_CEH.

Cheers to my supervisors Prof Dave Spurgeon, Dr Gloria Pereira (both @UK_CEH), and Prof Kevin Jones ( @LancsUniLEC).

Any questions? :)

11/11