The goal of our study is to quantify and characterize microplastics generated by open dumping and burning practices and to assess their distribution through the surrounding soil. Open dumping and burning is a non-standardized waste management practice utilized throughout the globe, including in underserved rural and Native communities of the United States. Open burning unevenly incinerates solid waste and generates partially combusted plastic pieces. These brittle plastics are potentially more prone to microplastic generation than their non-burned counterparts; furthermore, incomplete combustion likely modifies the chemical and physical features of microplastics, which may lead to the release of derivatives, constituent monomers, flame retardants, or additives used during plastic fabrication. We sampled a single-family open burning site located in rural Oklahoma and two community-wide sites in a Crow Agency, MT. Samples were elutriated, density separated, and digested to eliminate excess of organic matter and inorganic materials. The recovered material was analyzed with Stereomicroscopy, Fluorescence Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total Reflectance Spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy to quantify microplastic contamination and evaluate microplastic surface chemistry and morphology. We found a range of 300 to 156,000 particles/kg soil from the single-family open burning site. FTIR-ATR analyses indicated that Polyethylene, N.N-Bis(2-Hydroxyethyl) Stearyl Amine, Polypropylene, and Olefins were the most frequently identified microplastics at this site. The assessment of the community-wide burn sites is ongoing. Our results will inform communities where these practices are prevalent and will broaden the knowledge of sources of microplastic contamination.

Open burning and burning of solid waste: An overlooked source of secondary microplastics in underserved communities

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