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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Catherine GandyORCiD, Professor Adam Jarvis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2025 The Authors. The erosion of legacy coastal municipal solid waste landfill sites will result in the dispersion of particulate material into nearby ecosystems with potential for effects on marine populations. Information on the speciation and solid phase associations of metal(loid) contaminants will help to predict contaminant behaviour and better understand ecosystem risks. Here, we investigate the solid phase composition of, and metal(loid) leaching from, fine fraction materials recovered from three actively eroding coastal landfill sites. High concentrations of a range of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn) were present in multiple samples, but metal(loid) leaching rates were very low (≪1 wt%) in both deionised water and seawater solutions. Therefore, particulate dispersion is the most likely mode of contaminant transport occurring at these sites. The fine fraction materials were dominated by fine sand sized (63–180 μm) quartz grains and silt sized (<63 μm) matrix components, which were likely to be poorly retained on beaches and easily transported offshore. Four priority contaminants (As, Cu, Pb and Zn) were found to occur primarily in adsorbed or precipitate forms, as either coatings on other particles or as discrete <10 μm particles. Dilution of these fine-grained contaminated particles within natural pelitic sediments will likely reduce the overall ecosystems impacts; but the risks to filter and bottom feeding organisms, and the potential for biomagnification across trophic levels are poorly understood.
Author(s): Burke IT, Onnis P, Riley AL, Gandy CJ, Ramos V, Rollinson GK, Byrne P, Crane RA, Hudson-Edwards KA, Jennings E, Mayes WM, Mosselmans JFW, Jarvis AP
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Marine Pollution Bulletin
Year: 2025
Volume: 219
Print publication date: 01/10/2025
Online publication date: 25/06/2025
Acceptance date: 19/06/2025
Date deposited: 10/07/2025
ISSN (print): 0025-326X
ISSN (electronic): 1879-3363
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.118341
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.118341
Data Access Statement: Data will be made available on request.
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