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Review on plastic-derived chemical pollutants in estuarine ecosystems: Assessing the scale of microplastic contamination
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Plastic-derived chemical pollutants — including endocrine disruptors and mutagens leached from plastic debris — accumulate persistently in estuarine sediments, water, and aquatic organisms, and can serve as tracers for overall microplastic contamination levels. Estuaries are particularly vulnerable hotspots where riverine plastic pollution converges with coastal marine environments, amplifying ecological and human health risks.
The major source of synthetic additives in estuarine ecology is plastic contamination and its dispersion. Therefore, the plastic-related chemicals can be used as an indicator of microplastic pollution in various environmental niches. The persistence and accumulation characteristics of these chemicals enhance their transfer to water, sediment, and biotic materials. These chemicals are endocrine disruptors and mutagens that affect the next generation. Systematic scientific approaches are essential for the remedial measures and sustainable environmental management processes. Graphical Abstract
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Emerging and legacy plasticisers in coastal and estuarine environments: A review
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This review examined the occurrence and fate of legacy and emerging plasticizers in coastal and estuarine environments, highlighting the chemical risks posed by these plastic additives beyond the physical effects of microplastics themselves.
Plastic additives and microplastics as emerging contaminants: Mechanisms and analytical assessment
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Researchers reviewed how chemical additives mixed into plastics during manufacturing — including stabilizers, flame retardants, and plasticizers — can leach out throughout a plastic's lifecycle and pose risks to ecosystems and human health, with microplastics acting as carriers that concentrate and transport these hazardous chemicals.
Marine Litter Plastics and Microplastics and Their Toxic Chemicals Components
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This review examined the chemical hazards posed by marine plastic litter and microplastics, focusing on persistent organic pollutants, flame retardants, plasticisers, and endocrine-disrupting additives that can leach from plastic polymers into marine food webs. The authors concluded that both the physical and chemical toxicity of marine plastics represent a serious and undercharacterised threat to biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and human health via seafood consumption.
Microplastics in the marine environment and the assessment of potential adverse effects of associated chemicals
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This review examines microplastics as emerging pollutants in the marine environment, discussing their ubiquity, persistence, and the potential adverse effects of chemicals associated with plastic particles.
Are Microplastic (∼25–1000 μm) and Plasticizer Concentrations Correlated in Sediments of an Urbanized UK Estuary?
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Researchers investigated whether plasticizer concentrations in environmental samples correlate with measured microplastic levels, testing the assumption that chemical additives can serve as proxies for plastic particle abundance. The findings clarify the reliability (and limitations) of using leached chemicals to infer microplastic contamination.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.