Pollutants Bioavailability and Toxicological Risk from Microplastics

Summary

Microplastics function as vectors for toxic chemicals — including persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals — adsorbing and concentrating these compounds before being ingested by organisms, which elevates bioavailability and toxicological risk beyond the particles themselves. This chemical hitchhiker effect means microplastic ingestion exposes organisms, including humans, to a broader and more potent cocktail of contaminants than particle size alone would suggest.