Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

Microorganisms play a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem balance by recycling essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as supporting processes like bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and biofuel production.Microbes in Elemental CyclesIn the carbon cycle, microorganisms decompose organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide via aerobic respiration. This carbon dioxide is subsequently used by photosynthetic organisms to synthesize organic compounds, closing the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Microplastic prevalence in commercially available pet foods.

Environmental toxicology and chemistry·2026

Same author

A global dataset of microplastics in urban stormwater runoff (2018-2024).

Scientific data·2026

Same author

Comparison of the Uptake of Tire Particles via Suspension and Surface Deposit Feeding in the Estuarine Amphipod <i>Corophium volutator</i>.

Environmental science & technology·2025

Same author

Cluefish: mining the dark matter of transcriptional data series with over-representation analysis enhanced by aggregated biological prior knowledge.

NAR genomics and bioinformatics·2025

Same author

Microplastic contamination is widespread across invertebrate taxa frequently consumed by terrestrial vertebrates.

Environmental toxicology and chemistry·2025

Same author

Microplastics in Antarctica - A plastic legacy in the Antarctic snow?

The Science of the total environment·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Published on: July 28, 2018

A Quantitative Environmental Risk Assessment for Microplastics in Sewage Sludge Applied to Land.

Paul Boisseaux¹, Marie Laure Delignette-Muller², Tamara Galloway¹

¹Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW), University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4TA, United-Kingdom.

Environmental Science & Technology

|October 20, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sewage sludge application to land introduces microplastics (MPs), harming soil organisms. Current practices risk affecting 15-39% of soil species, highlighting the urgent need for MP regulations in biosolids.

Keywords:

2D Monte Carlo simulations microplastics risk assessment sludge soil species-sensitivity distribution

More Related Videos

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Published on: December 16, 2016

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Published on: March 21, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris

Published on: July 28, 2018

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis

Published on: December 16, 2016

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Published on: March 21, 2025

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Ecotoxicology
Soil Science

Background:

Land application of sewage sludge introduces significant microplastic (MP) contamination into soils.
This contamination poses chronic risks to soil biota, yet quantitative risk assessments are lacking, especially for sludge itself.
Sludge-amended soils (SAS) represent a key pathway for MP exposure to terrestrial ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantitatively assess the chronic risk of microplastics (MPs) from sewage sludge to soil biota.
To evaluate risks under both worst-case and realistic scenarios of sludge behavior in soil.
To determine if current sludge application practices adequately protect soil organisms.

Main Methods:

Utilized environmental exposure data and species sensitivity distributions from published literature.
Employed two-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations for risk characterization.
Modeled MP risks in raw sludge samples and in sludge-amended soils (SAS) under different scenarios.

Main Results:

Microplastic (MP) concentrations in sludge frequently exceeded levels likely to impact over 5% of species.
Risk assessments indicated that worst-case MP scenarios affect 39% of soil species, while realistic scenarios affect 15-18%.
The percentage of species affected by MPs approximately doubled in SAS compared to initial sludge contamination levels.

Conclusions:

Current sewage sludge application practices on land fail to protect the widely accepted benchmark of 95% of soil species from microplastic (MP) risks.
The chronic risks posed by MPs in sludge and SAS are substantial and warrant regulatory attention.
Urgent consideration of regulatory limits for MPs in sewage sludge intended for land application is recommended to safeguard soil ecosystems.