@conference{
author = "Mikavica, Ivana and Ranđelović, Dragana and Ilić, Miloš and Obradović, Milena and Stojanović, Jovica and Mutić, Jelena",
year = "2023",
abstract = "Microplastics (MPs), the long-lasting anthropogenic contaminant omnipresent in the environment, have become a threat to ecosystems’ function and living organisms’ health, potentially harming the food chain globally. The presence of MPs emerged on a worldwide scale, while the evidence of microplastic particles is already being detected in human tissues. Terrestrial environments are sinks for plastic deposition and are one of the main routes of MPs reaching the groundwater and water bodies. In this regard, urban soils could significantly contribute to overall plastic pollution even though it have been mostly neglected by the research investigations carried out so far. Herein, we investigated MPs abundance in the soils of Belgrade, a city located in the northeast of Serbia, the capital and the most populated city in Serbia. Two sampling points chosen to represent the pollution gradient were the city center zone, close to the highway (BG1), and Košutnjak, the urban forest area around 7 km distant from the center (BG2). MPs extraction was performed using a density separation method, by saturated NaCl solution (1.2 g cm-3). Before extraction, soil organic matter was digested by 30% H2O2. Found average concentration of MPs was 400 items per kg of dry soil sampled in BG1. Soil from Košutnjak contained no MPs according to our findings. MPs abundance found in sampled soils from Belgrade is in agreement with previous reports analyzing urban areas. Isolated plastic particles were identified and counted using a polarizing microscope (Carl Zeiss Jena Pol-U). All found items were white/transparent fragments, characterized afterward by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy using a Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS50 spectrophotometer. Detected polymer types were polystyrene (PS) and phosphorylated cardanol prepolymer (PCP), suggesting the insulation, packing, and rubber materials as potential pollution sources. Transportation, overload of customer goods and packaging, construction, and building activities are the prevailing anthropogenic origins of MPs accumulation in urban environments. Further investigations will aim to reveal the relations between MPs and other pollutants and the potential impact on soil biota.",
publisher = "Belgrade : Materials Research Society of Serbia, Belgrade : Institute of Technical Sciences of SASA",
journal = "Twenty-First Young Researchers’ Conference - Materials Science and Engineering",
title = "Microplastics in urban soils of Belgrade: Abundance and potential sources",
pages = "50-50"
}