Abstract
Pakistan's freshwater shortage and climate events have caused soil nutrient leaching, prompting cities to adopt wastewater irrigation. This study investigates wastewater as a potential source of microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs), assessing contaminant levels in wastewater-irrigated surface soils (WISS) in district Okara, Pakistan. It further explores potential ecological and human health risks associated with HMs in soil and the impact of MPs on HMs distribution and physicochemical properties. The concentrations of HM in WISS were within permissible limits (Cd: 0.48, Cu: 17.99, Zn: 29.73, Pb: 19.65, Fe: 8559.5), except for Mn, which was 182.94 mg/kg. MPs abundance ranged from 1850 to 5300 particles/kg, with the most common physical characteristics being fragment shapes (49.6%); black color (40.1%), and small sizes (<500 μm) many physical properties depicted association with HMs and MPs sizes. The structural equation model (SEM) showed a significant impact of MPs on HMs distribution, risk index, and pollution load index, but no significant relationship with physicochemical properties. The pollution indices for HMs in WISS indicated low ecological risk and negligible non-carcinogenic health risks were predicted for both adults and children. However, regular monitoring, enforcement of management and implementation plans, and remediation strategies for HMs and MPs in WISS are highly recommended.
Published Version
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