Search for: All records

Open dumping and burning of solid waste are widely practiced in underserved communities lacking access to solid waste management facilities. The generation of microplastics from these sites has been overlooked. 

Open dumping and burning of solid waste are widely practiced in underserved communities lacking access to solid waste management facilities; however, the generation of microplastics from these sites has been overlooked. We report elevated concentrations of microplastics (MPs) in soil of three solid waste open dump and burn sites: a single-family site in Tuttle, Oklahoma, USA, and two community-wide sites in Crow Agency and Lodge Grass, Montana, USA. We extracted, quantified, and characterized MPs from two soil depths (0-9 cm and 9-18 cm). The abundance of particles found at the three sites (35,000 to 69,200 particles kg-1 soil) equals or exceeds reported concentrations from currently understood sources of MPs including biosolids application and other agricultural practices. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared (ATR-FTIR) identified polyethylene as the dominant polymer across all sites (46.2%-84.8%). We also detected rayon (≤11.5%), polystyrene (up to 11.5%), polyethylene terephthalate (≤5.1), polyvinyl chloride (≤4.4%), polyester (≤3.1), and acrylic (≤2.2%). Burned MPs accounted for 76.3 to 96.9% of the MPs found in both community wide dumping sites. These results indicate that solid waste dumping and burning activities are a major source of thermally oxidized MPs for the surrounding terrestrial environment with potential to negatively affect underserved communities. 

Affordable access to safe drinking water is essential to community health, yet there is limited understanding of water insecurity among Native Americans. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to describe Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) tribal members’ experiences with water insecurity. For Apsáalooke people, local rivers and springs are still vitally important for traditional cultural activities. We interviewed 30 Native American adults living on the Crow Reservation in Southeastern Montana. Participants answered six open-ended interview questions about their water access, costs of obtaining water and changes in their domestic and traditional water uses. Participants emphasized how the use of water has changed over time and described the complex challenges associated with addressing water insecurity in their community, including the importance of considering the spiritual and cultural impacts of water insecurity on health. Water insecurity is a growing global problem and more attention and efforts are needed to find appropriate and affordable solutions.