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The environmental effects of microplastics and microplastic derived dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments: A review
Summary
This review examines how microplastics interact with other pollutants in water and how aging from sunlight and weathering changes their behavior. As microplastics break down, they release dissolved organic matter and develop surface changes that increase their ability to carry harmful chemicals like pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in real-world environments may be more dangerous than fresh plastics used in most lab studies.
Currently, microplastics (MPs) have ubiquitously distributed in different aquatic environments. Due to the unique physicochemical properties, MPs exhibit a variety of environmental effects with the coexisted contaminants. MPs can not only alter the migration of contaminants via vector effect, but also affect the transformation process and fate of contaminants via environmental persistent free radicals (EPFRs). The aging processes may enhance the interaction between MPs and co-existed contaminants. Thus, it is of great significance to review the aging mechanism of MPs and the influence of coexisted substances, the formation mechanism of EPFRs, environmental effects of MPs and relevant mechanism. Moreover, microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) may also influence the elemental biogeochemical cycles and the relevant environmental processes. However, the environmental implications of MP-DOM are rarely outlined. Finally, the knowledge gaps on environmental effects of MPs were proposed.