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Understanding the Transportation of Plastic Pollution to Different Environmental Compartments and Human

Land Degradation and Development 2025
Shaohong Jiang, Hongpeng Wang, Hongpeng Wang, Tianliang Xia, Puxiang Ning, Huating Lu, Anna Rui, Shuwen Zhou, Xinyu Bai, Qidong Hou

Summary

This review systematically examined how microplastics and nanoplastics travel between environmental compartments—air, water, soil, and biota—and ultimately reach humans. The authors identified critical transport nodes where intervention could reduce human exposure, emphasizing the need for integrated cross-compartment monitoring and policy responses.

ABSTRACT Modern society's excessive reliance on plastic products has resulted in the accumulation of vast amounts of plastic waste that inevitably resolve into enormous microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) to threaten ecological environments and human health. Systematic comprehension of the transportation routes and critical nodes is imperative to adopt effective control measures to protect humans from MNPs‐related impacts. Here we give an overview of the transportation of plastic pollution to different environmental compartments from a macroscopic perspective, with an emphasis on the spatial–temporal distributions of MPs and NPs in water, soil, atmosphere, and plants. Moreover, we critically assess the alarming evidence of the plastic accumulation in human tissues and their toxic effects. To further understand the intricate influences of MNPs pollution on environmental compartments and humans, the development of improved detection methods, long‐term monitoring, and systematic evaluation of plastic‐associated chemicals are indispensable.

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