Exposure to aged crumb rubber reduces survival time during a stress test in earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

Pochron, Sharon; Nikakis, Jacqueline; Illuzzi, Kyra; Baatz, Andrea; Demirciyan, Loriana; Dhillon, Amritjot; Gaylor, Thomas; Manganaro, Alexa; Maritato, Nicholas; Moawad, Michael; Singh, Rajwinder; Tucker, Clara; Vaughan, Daniel

doi:10.1007/s11356-018-1433-4

Research Article
Published: 08 February 2018

Exposure to aged crumb rubber reduces survival time during a stress test in earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

Sharon Pochron ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3790-7197¹,
Jacqueline Nikakis²,
Kyra Illuzzi²,
Andrea Baatz²,
Loriana Demirciyan²,
Amritjot Dhillon²,
Thomas Gaylor²,
Alexa Manganaro²,
Nicholas Maritato²,
Michael Moawad²,
Rajwinder Singh²,
Clara Tucker² &
Daniel Vaughan²

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 25, pages 11376–11383 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Solid waste management struggles with the sustainable disposal of used tires. One solution involves shredding used tires into crumb rubber and using the material as infill for artificial turf. However, crumb rubber contains hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and heavy metals, and it travels into the environment. Earthworms living in soil contaminated with virgin crumb rubber gained 14% less body weight than did earthworms living in uncontaminated soil, but the impact of aged crumb rubber on the earthworms is unknown. Since many athletic fields contain aged crumb rubber, we compared the body weight, survivorship, and longevity in heat and light stress for earthworms living in clean topsoil to those living in topsoil contaminated with aged crumb rubber. We also characterized levels of metals, nutrients, and micronutrients of both soil treatments and compared those to published values for soil contaminated with virgin crumb rubber. Consistent with earlier research, we found that contaminated soil did not inhibit microbial respiration rates. Aged crumb rubber, like new crumb rubber, had high levels of zinc. However, while exposure to aged crumb rubber did not reduce earthworm body weight as did exposure to new crumb rubber, exposure to aged crumb rubber reduced earthworm survival time during a stress test by a statistically significant 38 min (16.2%) relative to the survival time for worms that had lived in clean soil. Aged crumb rubber and new crumb rubber appear to pose similar toxic risks to earthworms. This study suggests an environmental cost associated with the current tire-recycling solution.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Michael Axelrod and John Klumpp for the endless assistance and wisdom in the greenhouse. We thank Drs. Elizabeth Newman and Kathy Twiss for the comments on the first drafts of this manuscript. We thank Kim Knoll for ordering supplies with grace and patience. We thank Dr. Heidi Hutner, Director of the Sustainability Studies Program at Stony Brook University, and Dr. Larry Swanson, Dean of SoMAS at Stony Brook University, for supporting our research. We lastly express our appreciation to the editor, Dr. Philippe Garrigues and the three anonymous reviewers, for helping to improve our paper.

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Sustainability Studies Program, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3352, USA
Sharon Pochron
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3352, USA
Jacqueline Nikakis, Kyra Illuzzi, Andrea Baatz, Loriana Demirciyan, Amritjot Dhillon, Thomas Gaylor, Alexa Manganaro, Nicholas Maritato, Michael Moawad, Rajwinder Singh, Clara Tucker & Daniel Vaughan

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Sharon Pochron
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Jacqueline Nikakis
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Kyra Illuzzi
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Andrea Baatz
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Loriana Demirciyan
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Amritjot Dhillon
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Thomas Gaylor
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Alexa Manganaro
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Nicholas Maritato
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Michael Moawad
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Rajwinder Singh
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Clara Tucker
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Daniel Vaughan
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Correspondence to Sharon Pochron.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Pochron, S., Nikakis, J., Illuzzi, K. et al. Exposure to aged crumb rubber reduces survival time during a stress test in earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 11376–11383 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1433-4

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Received: 09 October 2017
Accepted: 29 January 2018
Published: 08 February 2018
Issue Date: April 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1433-4

Keywords

Playgrounds
Soil invertebrate
Zinc
Recycled rubber
Leachate
Soil respiration
New crumb rubber