Environmental occurrence and biota concentration of phthalate esters in Oba River, Nigeria: Ecological and Human Health Risks Assessment

Fate and Ecological Risk of Phthalate Esters in Microplastics of Wastewater in the Wastewater Treatment Plant

AI summary · Read the abstract

This study measured phthalate ester concentrations in both the liquid and microplastic fractions throughout a wastewater treatment process, finding that di-n-butyl phthalate and benzyl butyl phthalate in effluent pose high ecological risk across fish, invertebrate, and algal trophic levels. Microplastics in wastewater act as vectors concentrating phthalate esters—known endocrine disruptors—and transporting them into receiving waterways at ecologically dangerous levels.

Microplastics and phthalate esters in tropical estuaries of Hainan Island, China: Spatial distribution and interrelationship patterns

Potential Impact of Heavy Metals and Microplastics in River Ecosystem on Aquatic Organisms and Human Health, and Sustainable Mitigation Approaches

AI summary · Read the abstract

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.

Co-occurrence and ecological interactions of microplastics and phthalate esters with typical microbial communities in sediments and drawdown zone soils of reservoir

Occurrence of phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea and the Rhone River