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Nuclear and isotopic techniques to assess the fate and impacts of plastic pollution on soil ecosystems and the environment

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Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 42 p.

Author Adu-Gyamfi, J.J.; Heng, L.K.; Ivleva, N.; Elsner, M.; Müller, K.; Vlasimsky, M.; Wang, F.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Booklet

Category Corporate general interest

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cc9677en

Synopsis (short abstract) Plastics (Ps) are widely used by people, and their production has increased from 1.7 million metric tonnes in 1950 to 359 million metric tonnes in 2018. The production, demand, and waste of plastics and microplastics (MPs, plastic particles <5 mm in size) have grown exponentially in the last century. However, despite their benefits to society, most plastics end up on land and in the soil (long-term sink), degrading into MP before entering the marine environment. The current conventional and isotopic methods, their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this document. This document focuses on the methodologies that contribute to comprehensive monitoring (fate and dynamics) and assessment of the impacts of plastic on soil fauna, that eventually lead to the development of mitigation strategies, as well as for evaluating the effectiveness of such measures. The cost–benefit and cost–effectivity analyses are not discussed in this technical paper. Neither does the paper touch on risk management approaches, such as hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicological assessments, and the overall risk assessment.

Cite this content as:

Adu-Gyamfi, J.J., Heng, L.K., Ivleva, N., Elsner, M., Müller, K., Vlasimsky, M. & Wang, F. 2024. Nuclear and isotopic techniques to assess the fate and impacts of plastic pollution on soil ecosystems and the environment. Rome, FAO.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc9677en

Language English

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