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Microplastics as an Emerging Potential Threat: Toxicity, Life Cycle Assessment, and Management
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This review covers the full life cycle of microplastics, from how they enter the environment to their toxic effects on living organisms. Microplastics accumulate in aquatic and land ecosystems, where they can harm organisms by causing oxidative stress, disrupting hormones, and damaging organs. The authors emphasize that with global plastic production still rising, better waste management and recycling methods are urgently needed to reduce human and environmental exposure.
The pervasiveness of microplastics (MPs) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems has become a significant environmental concern in recent years. Because of their slow rate of disposal, MPs are ubiquitous in the environment. As a consequence of indiscriminate use, landfill deposits, and inadequate recycling methods, MP production and environmental accumulation are expanding at an alarming rate, resulting in a range of economic, social, and environmental repercussions. Aquatic organisms, including fish and various crustaceans, consume MPs, which are ultimately consumed by humans at the tertiary level of the food chain. Blocking the digestive tracts, disrupting digestive behavior, and ultimately reducing the reproductive growth of entire living organisms are all consequences of this phenomenon. In order to assess the potential environmental impacts and the resources required for the life of a plastic product, the importance of life cycle assessment (LCA) and circularity is underscored. MPs-related ecosystem degradation has not yet been adequately incorporated into LCA, a tool for evaluating the environmental performance of product and technology life cycles. It is a technique that is designed to quantify the environmental effects of a product from its inception to its demise, and it is frequently employed in the context of plastics. The control of MPs is necessary due to the growing concern that MPs pose as a newly emergent potential threat. This is due to the consequences of their use. This paper provides a critical analysis of the formation, distribution, and methods used for detecting MPs. The effects of MPs on ecosystems and human health are also discussed, which posed a great challenge to conduct an LCA related to MPs. The socio-economic impacts of MPs and their management are also discussed. This paper paves the way for understanding the ecotoxicological impacts of the emerging MP threat and their associated issues to LCA and limits the environmental impact of plastic.
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This comprehensive review summarizes current knowledge about how microplastics form, spread through the environment, and affect living organisms at every level of the food chain. It covers the toxic effects of microplastics on cells, organs, and whole organisms, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormone disruption. The review also evaluates emerging methods for breaking down microplastics, concluding that a combination of prevention, cleanup, and policy changes is needed to address this growing health threat.
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This comprehensive review summarizes what we know about microplastics, covering how they act in the environment, how they break down, and how scientists detect them. Microplastics serve as carriers for toxic chemicals and can harm both marine and land-based ecosystems at multiple levels. The review emphasizes that while some microorganisms can break down plastics, current biodegradation methods are far too slow to keep up with the scale of pollution.
Environmental source, fate, and toxicity of microplastics
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This comprehensive review covers the sources, environmental fate, and toxic effects of microplastics across both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The study highlights that microplastics are now found virtually everywhere on Earth and can harm organisms through physical damage, chemical leaching, and by acting as carriers for other pollutants.
Microplastics in the marine environment: Current trends in environmental pollution and mechanisms of toxicological profile
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This review examines current trends in marine microplastic pollution and the mechanisms through which these particles cause toxicity in marine organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can cause physical damage to digestive tracts, transfer absorbed chemical pollutants to tissues, and trigger inflammatory and oxidative stress responses. The study highlights the growing scale of the problem as global plastic production continues to rise.
Microplastics in Environment and Effects on Biota
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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.