biosolids-contamination
Biosolids contamination refers to the introduction of pollutants—including heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics—into soil and plants through the land application of treated municipal sewage sludge used as fertilizer. For plant scientists, this is a critical area of study because these contaminants can be taken up by plant roots, accumulate in edible tissues, and disrupt normal physiological processes such as nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and growth. Understanding how plants respond to and tolerate biosolids-derived pollutants informs safer agricultural practices and the development of phytoremediation strategies.
PubMed · 2026-04-01
A review of research on 'forever chemicals' (PFAS) in sewage sludge finds that bacteria and plants can partially break down these toxic compounds, but major gaps in knowledge remain about long-term risks to soil and food systems.
Certain bacteria (Dehalobacter spp. and Gordonia spp.) can degrade PFAS at efficiencies of 80-90% under optimized laboratory conditions.
Research is heavily concentrated in China (31%), Europe (30%), and North America (16%), leaving major knowledge gaps for South America, Oceania, and Africa.
Long-chain PFAS compounds preferentially accumulate in plant roots, while shorter-chain variants travel more readily into above-ground plant tissues.