The Uptake of Consumer Product Chemicals into Plants Grown in Biosolids-Amended Soils — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Thomas Carr
Katherin Hilson
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Sarah Terrill

The Uptake of Consumer Product Chemicals into Plants Grown in Biosolids-Amended Soils

Name: Emily Turk
Major: Environmental Science
Hometown: Trevor, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Rubinfeld
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Name: Patrick Zaker
Major: Biology
Hometown: Aurora, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Rubinfeld
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Abstract

Biosolids are nutrient-rich solids produced during the wastewater treatment process. There has been increased recent interest in their use as an agricultural amendment, both to reduce the volume disposed of in landfills and to provide a sustainable alternative to commercial fertilizers. However, questions remain about the environmental fate of wastewater contaminants which persist through the treatment process. Consumer product chemicals such as synthetic musks, phthalates, and triclosan could potentially be taken up by plants grown in amended soils, resulting in negative impacts to humans and/or environmental systems. As a preliminary evaluation of this process, lettuce was grown in soil amended with both unaltered and spiked biosolids. The resulting plants contained low concentrations of three of the six contaminants analyzed, suggesting that this pathway merits more detailed study in the future.

Submit date: March 14, 2019, 1:47 p.m.