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Health and Environmental Risks of Microplastics
Summary
This review paper pulls together existing research on how microplastics — tiny plastic particles found nearly everywhere — get into our bodies through the food we eat, the air we breathe, and even our skin, and how they can cause harm through physical damage, chemical toxicity, or by carrying bacteria and other pollutants. The takeaway: microplastics may affect multiple organ systems, with some groups of people facing higher exposure risks, so understanding and reducing this pollution matters for long-term public health, even though many of the long-term effects are still being studied.
This chapter delivers an inclusive study of the health and environmental risks posed by microplastic pollution, building upon the previous understanding of microplastic existence and dispersal in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems established in the earlier section. It explores the involved pathways through which humans are exposed to these abundant toxins, including ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. It also explains the chief mechanisms of toxicity: physical toxicity, chemical toxicity, and microbiological toxicity. Additionally, the chapter examines evidence linking microplastic exposure to adverse health consequences across several organ systems, with specific consideration of the increased risks faced by the most exposed populations. In addition, it explores how the ecological disturbances instigated by microplastics, their harmful effects on both soil and water environments, their role as transporters of other pollutants, and the understanding of the long-term effects. To finish, the chapter produces the interrelation of these health and environmental risks, frames the existing knowledge and critical research directions, and confers possible mitigation approaches expected to reduce the intensifying threat of microplastic pollution.