Emerging contaminants related to plastic and microplastic pollution

Potential Environmental Contamination by Microplastics

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This paper reviews the sources, types, and environmental pathways of microplastics, which range from 0.1 micrometers to 5 mm and are generated both as primary manufactured particles and from the breakdown of larger plastics. As these particles accumulate across land, water, and air, their potential to carry toxic chemicals into human bodies is an escalating public health concern.

Microplastic - an emerging contaminant of potential concern?

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This paper raises early concerns about microplastics as an emerging environmental contaminant of potential concern, though limited abstract detail is available. The framing of microplastics as a newly recognized pollutant reflects the field's early recognition of the need for systematic study of plastic particle contamination.

Micro- and nano-plastics: an emerging contaminant in marine and freshwater ecosystems

Interaction Between Microplastics and Pollutants

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Researchers examined how microplastics interact with environmental pollutants, finding that their accumulation causes physical harm including suffocation and energy depletion in aquatic organisms, while their surfaces act as vectors that concentrate and transport co-contaminants through ecosystems in various forms including films and fragments.

Plastics and Microplastics—Environmental and Health Hazards

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Researchers reviewed how long-lasting plastic use and improper disposal—through landfilling or incineration—releases hazardous chemicals into soil, food, and water, posing serious environmental and public health risks across ecosystems.