It is estimated that an average-scale wastewater treatment plant can provide services to approximately 400,000 residents and will discharge up to 2 million microplastic particles into the environment every day.
However, researchers are still learning about the impact of these ultra-fine plastic particles less than 5 mm in length on the environment and human health, from cosmetics, toothpaste, and clothing ultra-fine fibers, to our food, air, and drinking water, everywhere.
Now, researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have shown that once the ubiquitous microplastics are washed away from domestic sewage and enter the wastewater treatment plant, they will become the "center" for the growth of drug-resistant bacteria and pathogens, forming a viscous biofilm or Biofilm. , Allowing pathogenic microorganisms and antibiotic waste to adhere and mix on its surface.
In the results of the study published in "Elsevier Hazardous Materials Letters", researchers found that when certain bacterial strains live on microplastic biofilms, their antibiotic resistance is increased by up to 30 times, and these biofilms It can be formed in the activated sludge unit of a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
"Many recent studies have focused on the negative impact of millions of microplastic wastes on our freshwater and marine environment each year, but so far, the role of microplastics in the wastewater treatment process in our towns has been unknown." Said Li Mengyan, associate professor of chemistry and environmental science at NJIT and the corresponding author of the study.
"These wastewater treatment plants may be hot spots where various chemicals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and pathogens converge. Our research shows that microplastics can be used as carriers. If the water treatment process is bypassed, it will pose an imminent risk to aquatic organisms and human health. "
Dr. Dung Ngoc Pham of NJIT added: “Most wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove microplastics, so they will continue to be released into the receiving environment.” Candidate and first author of the study.
"Our goal is to investigate whether microplastics in municipal sewage treatment plants are accumulating resistant bacteria from activated sludge. If so, please learn more about the microbial communities involved."
In their research, the research team collected a batch of sludge samples from three domestic sewage treatment plants in northern New Jersey and used two widely used commercial microplastics (polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene) in the laboratory. Ethylene (PS)) was inoculated with these samples.
The team used a combination of quantitative PCR and next-generation sequencing technologies to identify the types of bacteria that are easy to grow on microplastics and track the genetic changes of bacteria.
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