Road de-icing salt: Assessment of a potential new source and pathway of microplastics particles from roads

Rødland, Elisabeth S.; Okoffo, Elvis D.; Rauert, Cassandra; Heier, Lene Sørlie; Lind, Ole Christian; Reid, Malcolm J.; Thomas, Kevin V.; Meland, Sondre

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139352

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…PET is commonly used in packaging (e.g., single-use plastic drink bottles), and polyester textiles are among some of the most used synthetic fibers. 54,55 Effluents from laundering synthetic textiles are directly released to WWTPs through sewers. Our results highlight socioeconomics as a potentially relevant factor in plastics use and beckon further investigation.…”

Section: Annual Mass Loads Of Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Release of Plastics to Australian Land from Biosolids End-Use

Okoffo

Tscharke

O’Brien

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Plastics are contaminants of emerging concern that can enter the environment from multiple sources, including via land application of treated sewage sludge (biosolids). Biosolids samples collected from 82 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Australia and covering 34% of the population during census week in 2016 were quantitatively analyzed to estimate the release of seven common plastics. Quantitative analysis was performed by pressurized liquid extraction followed by double-shot microfurnace pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Ninety nine percent of the samples contained plastics (Σ 6 plastics) at concentrations of between 0.4 and 23.5 mg/g dry weight (median; 10.4 mg/g dry weight), while polycarbonate was not detected in any sample. Per-capita mass loads of plastics (Σ 6 plastics) released were between 8 and 877 g/person/year across all investigated WWTPs. Polyethylene was the predominant plastic detected, contributing to 69% of Σ 6 plastics. Based on the concentrations measured, it was projected that around 4700 metric tons (Mt) of plastics are released into the Australian environment through biosolids end-use each year, equating to approximately 200 g/person/ year, which represents 0.13% of total plastics use in Australia. Of this, 3700 Mt of plastics are released to agricultural lands and 140 Mt to landscape topsoil. Our results provide a first quantitative per-capita mass loads and emission estimate of plastic types through biosolids end-use.

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Section: Annual Mass Loads Of Plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Release of Plastics to Australian Land from Biosolids End-Use

Okoffo

Tscharke

O’Brien

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Fig. 4.2 presents the range of concentrations that have thus far been reported (Baensch-Baltruschat et al 2020;Bye and Johnsen 2019;Rødland et al 2020;. Tyres are composed of a complex mix of ingredients including natural and synthetic rubbers, mineral oils, fillers, antioxidants, and antiozonants .…”

Section: Roadsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…One study has looked at the retention of TWP in a soil retention filters and reported a concentration of 150,000 mg kg −1 (Klöckner et al 2019). A study of microplastic particles in road de-icing salt (Rødland et al 2020), used in areas with cold winter climate to ensure traffic safety, also found TWP in the salt, coming from the production sites and/or roads nearby the salt collection sites. However, the concentrations are very low compared to the contribution from tire wear itself, only 0.77 mg kg −1 salt.…”

Section: Roadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments

Kallenbach

Rødland

Buenaventura

et al. 2021

Environmental Contamination Remediation and Management

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In recent years, the focus of microplastic research has begun to observe a shift from the marine towards terrestrial and freshwater environments. This is in response to a greater awareness of the predominance of land-based sources in marine microplastic contamination. In this regard, terrestrial and freshwater environments are often perceived as conduits for microplastic particles to the oceans, but this overlooks substantial and important complexities associated with these systems, as well as the need to protect these ecosystems in their own right. This chapter focuses on several critical sources and pathways deemed to be highly important for the release of microplastics to the environment. These include road-associated microplastic particles (RAMP) and emissions related to agriculture that are, thus far, under-researched. Transfers and accumulations of particles within terrestrial and freshwater systems are also reviewed, including the state of knowledge on the occurrence of microplastics in different environmental compartments (air, water, sediments, biota). Methodological constraints are addressed, with particular focus on the need for greater harmonisation along all stages of sampling, analysis, and data handling. Finally, the chapter discusses the ultimate fate of particles released to terrestrial and freshwater environments and highlights critical research gaps that should be addressed to evolve our understanding of microplastic contamination in complex and dynamic environmental systems.

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“…The behavior of the friction generated by the tire-road surface interfaces is important during winter in order to ensure vehicle safety and control of driving tasks for road users. Moreover, the continuity of the snow makes the friction even more important, because of the slippery road pavement surface-caused not only by the water film thickness but also as a result of the accumulated snow and low temperatures-that may cause icing or freezing of the road surface [50,51] (see Table 3). During snowing, the visibility of the road is poor, which can be an additional factor that influences driver behavior besides freezing of the road pavement surface.…”

Section: Impact Of Snow and Ice/freezing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress and Monitoring Opportunities of Skid Resistance in Road Transport: A Critical Review and Road Sensors

et al. 2021

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Skid resistance is a significant feature that provides consistent traffic safety management for road pavements. An appropriate level of Skid resistance describes the contribution that the pavement surface makes to tire/road friction, and the surface of the road pavement can reduce vehicle operation cost, traffic accidents, and fatalities, particularly in wet conditions. Wet conditions decrease the level of the skid resistance (pavement friction), and this may lead to serious struggles related to driving on the road pavement (e.g., skidding or hydroplaning), which contributes to higher crash rates. The knowledge of skid resistance is essential to ensure reliable traffic management in transportation systems. Thus, a suitable methodology of skid resistance measurement and the understanding of the characterization of the road pavement are key to allow safe driving conditions. This paper presents a critical review on the current state of the art of the research conducted on skid resistance measurement techniques, taking into account field-based and laboratory-based methodologies, and novel road sensors with regard to various practices of skid resistance, factors influencing the skid resistance, the concept of the minimum skid resistance and thresholds. In conclusion, new trends that are relevant to data collection approaches and innovative procedures to further describe the data treatment are discussed to achieve better understanding, more accurate data interoperability, and proper measurement of skid resistance.

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Road de-icing salt: Assessment of a potential new source and pathway of microplastics particles from roads

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

Release of Plastics to Australian Land from Biosolids End-Use

Release of Plastics to Australian Land from Biosolids End-Use

Microplastics in Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments

Progress and Monitoring Opportunities of Skid Resistance in Road Transport: A Critical Review and Road Sensors

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