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Microplastics as a Modulator of Mercury Biogeochemistry: Transport, Transformation, and Environmental Impacts.
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This review summarizes existing research on how tiny plastic particles called microplastics affect mercury, a toxic metal, in water, soil and air. It describes how microplastics can carry mercury, change its chemical form, and interact with microbes, while noting that effects of airborne microplastics on mercury are still poorly studied.
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in global ecosystems, yet their influence on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg), a highly toxic metal capable of global-scale and cross-medium transport, remains poorly understood. This Review synthesizes the multifaceted role of MPs in Hg transport and transformation across aquatic, soil, and atmospheric systems. We analyze how MPs act as novel vectors and reaction interfaces, modulating Hg dynamics through adsorption-desorption processes, redox reactions, and methylation via mechanisms including the release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and modulation of microbial activity. This study for the first time quantifies the Hg adsorption potential of MPs in global freshwater and marine environments alongside Hg reduction and biological desorption potentials mediated by MPs. These MP-Hg interactions are governed by the physicochemical properties of MPs, Hg species, and ambient conditions. Despite these findings, critical knowledge gaps persist regarding MP-Hg interactions and the underlying mechanisms under environmentally realistic conditions. Particularly, research on atmospheric MPs is still in its early stages, although they may influence Hg transport and deposition as airborne carriers. Filling these gaps is essential for refining risk assessments and developing integrated pollution control strategies for both Hg and MPs.
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Microplastic-mediated environmental behavior of metal contaminants: mechanism and implication
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This review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals across water, soil, and air environments, acting as carriers that concentrate and transport toxic metals. Researchers found that microplastics can increase the bioavailability and toxicity of metal contaminants to living organisms. The study highlights major gaps in current analytical methods and calls for better tools to understand these complex pollutant interactions.
Toxicity of methylmercury in aquatic organisms and interaction with environmental factors and coexisting pollutants: A review
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This review examines how methylmercury, a toxic form of mercury found in fish, interacts with environmental factors including microplastics in aquatic ecosystems. The findings show that microplastics can alter how mercury accumulates in aquatic organisms, potentially changing the level of mercury contamination in seafood that people eat.
Particulate plastics as a vector for toxic trace-element uptake by aquatic and terrestrial organisms and human health risk.
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This paper reviews evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics act as carriers for toxic trace elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium in both aquatic and terrestrial environments, concentrating these metals on their surfaces. The authors assess how adsorption of heavy metals onto plastic particles may increase human and wildlife exposure risks, and discuss how environmental conditions influence metal uptake by plastics.
Influence of Microplastics on the Mobility, Bioavailability, and Toxicity of Heavy Metals: A Review
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This review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, potentially influencing the metals' mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity to living organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb heavy metals and transport them to new locations, but the interactions depend on the type of plastic, metal, and environmental conditions. The study highlights that microplastics acting as carriers for toxic metals represents an underappreciated environmental and health risk.
Adsorption kinetics of different mercury species on three kinds of micro-/nano-plastics in micro-polluted aquatic environments and their combined toxicity.
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This study investigated the adsorption kinetics of inorganic mercury, methylmercury, and ethylmercury on three types of micro/nano-plastics in a micro-polluted aqueous environment. Adsorption rates and capacities varied by mercury species and plastic type, highlighting how MPs can act as vectors concentrating toxic mercury forms in aquatic systems.
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