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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Policy & Risk
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Mind the fragmentation gap
Nature Communications2024
15 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Zhenna Azimrayat Andrews,
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Zhenna Azimrayat Andrews,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Karin Kvale,
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Matthias Egger
Summary
Researchers highlight a critical oversight in global plastic pollution policy: even if new plastic production were halted, legacy plastics already in the environment will continue fragmenting into secondary microplastics for decades. They term this ongoing flux the "fragmentation gap" and argue it is currently overlooked in Global Plastics Treaty targets. The study calls for additional mitigation measures to address this persistent and growing source of microplastic pollution.
The Global Plastics Treaty presents an opportunity to “end plastic pollution”. Legacy plastics will continue to fragment to secondary microplastics for decades, without additional mitigation measures. We identify this flux as a “fragmentation gap”, currently overlooked in global policy targets.