Temporal trends of water quality parameters, heavy metals, microplastics, and emerging organic pollutants in Lake Victoria and its basin: knowns, knowledge gaps, and future directions

Water and sediment microplastic dynamics in African inland freshwater systems: a review

AI summary · Read the abstract

This review pulled together 41 studies to show that Africa's rivers and lakes are widely contaminated with microplastics, tiny plastic fragments and fibers, with even higher levels showing up in sediment (the mud and sand at the bottom) than in the water itself, especially during rainy seasons. Since these freshwater sources are often used for drinking water and fishing, this contamination matters because we still don't fully know how ingesting these particles over time affects human health, making this an area that urgently needs more research and better plastic waste management.

First Evidence of Anthropogenic Activity Contribution to Spatial Abundance and Characteristics of Microplastics in Selected Urban Shores of Lake Tanganyika

Investigation of Microplastic Influx into Lake Tega from Inflow Rivers

Occurrence and Effects of Microplastics in Lake Ecosystems: Particular Focus on Migration in Water and Food Chains

AI summary · Read the abstract

This review synthesizes findings on microplastic occurrence, sources, and ecological effects in lake ecosystems worldwide, with a focus on how microplastics migrate through water columns and accumulate across aquatic food chains. Lakes are critical freshwater resources for drinking water and fisheries, making the documented bioaccumulation and toxicity of microplastics in lake food webs a direct public health concern.

Microplastics menace: the new emerging lurking environmental issue, a review on sampling and quantification in aquatic environments

AI summary · Read the abstract

Researchers reviewed current methods for detecting and measuring microplastics in water, finding that inconsistent sampling and analysis techniques make it difficult to compare data across studies, and calling for standardized, automated methods to enable reliable monitoring of this growing contaminant.