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Metcalf, R.; Fellows, R.; White, H.L. ; Quilliam, R.

Tensile strength and concentrations of E. coli colonising three types of wet wipes in a sand mesocosm

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This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

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https://doi.org/10.5285/19a8083b-afa4-40b9-91bf-7a529eea870d
In this mesocosm study, three types of wet wipes (plastic containing, and home and commercially compostable) colonised with E. coli were buried in beach sand and their degradation, tensile strength, and concentration of E. coli was quantified over 15 weeks.
Wipes were firstly passed through a series of treatments to simulate their journey from the bathroom to the beach. Water characteristics (pH, salinity) of these water types were measured.
Publication date: 2024-07-15
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View numbers valid from 15 July 2024 Download numbers valid from 15 July 2024 (information prior to this was not collected)

Format

Comma-separated values (CSV)

Provenance & quality

At weekly timepoints (for 15 weeks), four of each wet wipe type were randomly selected, and removed from the mesocosm using sterile forceps. The loosely adhering sand was shaken off and each wet wipe transferred into a sterile glass vial containing 20 ml phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Vials were then vortexed at 1500 rpm for 5 min and E. coli enumerated by filtering the PBS through 0.45 μm filters, which were placed onto selective media and incubated at 37°C. The wet wipes were removed from the glass vials and left to dry overnight. The following day, a 50 N digital force meter was used to quantify tensile strength by measuring the force required to break each wipe. Wipes were also photographed to determine degradation visually.
Background bacterial concentrations were measured by filtering 100 ml water through 0.45 μm cellulose acetate membranes and placed onto selective media.

Licensing and constraints

This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

Cite this dataset as:
Metcalf, R.; Fellows, R.; White, H.L. ; Quilliam, R. (2024). Tensile strength and concentrations of E. coli colonising three types of wet wipes in a sand mesocosm. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/19a8083b-afa4-40b9-91bf-7a529eea870d

Correspondence/contact details

Metcalf, R.
University of Stirling
 Rebecca.metcalf@stir.ac.uk

Authors

Metcalf, R.
University of Stirling
Fellows, R.
University of Stirling
White, H.L.
University of Stirling
Quilliam, R.
University of Stirling

Other contacts

Rights holder
University of Stirling
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk

Additional metadata

Topic categories
environment
health
INSPIRE theme
Human Health and Safety
Keywords
environmental pathogens , microbiology , plastic pollution , Pollution , public health , sand microbiology , sewage discharge
Funding
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/S005196/1
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/V005847/1
Last updated
13 August 2024 11:15