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Assessment of water quality in the upper Brantas River through microplastic-associated biofilms and heavy metal accumulation
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Researchers assessed water quality in Indonesia's upper Brantas River by analyzing microplastic-associated biofilms and heavy metal accumulation, finding that microplastics act as carriers that concentrate pollutants and amplify contamination risk in an aquatic ecosystem under urban and agricultural pressure.
Microplastics are a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems, including the upper Brantas River in Indonesia, by acting as carriers for biofilms that accumulate pollutants like heavy metals. This s...
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Potential Impact of Heavy Metals and Microplastics in River Ecosystem on Aquatic Organisms and Human Health, and Sustainable Mitigation Approaches
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Researchers review the combined contamination of rivers by heavy metals and microplastics, documenting how both pollutants bioaccumulate through aquatic food webs causing oxidative stress, genetic damage, and reproductive disruption in freshwater species, with rising urbanization and industrialization amplifying ecological risks and human health exposure through trophic pathways.
Understanding Microplastic Pollution in Riverbed Sediments: Special Emphasis on a Medium-Sized City in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
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Sediment samples from an urban stream in Rio Claro, Brazil showed microplastic concentrations up to 18,000 units per kilogram — among the highest reported in Brazil — with fibers and tire wear particles as the dominant types, driven by untreated sewage and stormwater runoff. The extreme pollution levels in a mid-sized city highlight that microplastic contamination is not confined to megacities, posing risks to water quality in smaller urban centers.
Impact and Fate of Microplastics in the Riverine Ecosystem
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Researchers reviewed the fate, transport, and ecological impacts of microplastics in riverine ecosystems, finding that rivers serve as major conduits for microplastic transfer from terrestrial sources to oceans and that riverine biota face significant exposure-related health risks.
Evaluation of Microplastic Pollution in Gills of Freshwater Fish in a Neotropical Hydrographic Basin, Brazil
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Analysis of gill tissue from 98 freshwater fish across eight species in Brazil's Sorocaba River basin found microplastics in every individual, with fibers comprising 74% of the 385 particles detected and highest contamination in the most disturbed river. The universal gill contamination across species demonstrates that freshwater fish in human-impacted watersheds serve as a direct route for microplastic entry into aquatic food webs and ultimately human diets.
Microplastics in freshwater environment: occurrence, analysis, impact, control measures and challenges
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This review found that freshwater environments receive microplastic contamination from multiple sources and that MPs pose toxicological risks to a wide range of freshwater organisms, yet standardized protocols for sampling, identification, and characterization across freshwater systems are still lacking. Since freshwater bodies are primary sources of drinking water globally, the absence of monitoring standards represents a critical gap in understanding and managing microplastic exposure risks for human health.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.