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Pathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment

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2024-11-28 23:30:04

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Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a study led by Ingun Lund Witsø of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, published November 6, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove contaminants from wastewater, but microplastics persist and can become colonized by a sticky microbial biofilm. Previous research has suggested that these microbial communities, called plastispheres, include potential pathogens, and thus might pose a risk to human health and the environment when treated wastewater and sludge are released.

In the new study, researchers identified food-borne pathogens in plastispheres living on three types of plastic in wastewater. They cultured the microorganisms and used genetic techniques to understand the diversity and members of the plastisphere communities.