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The issue of microplastics in the aquatic environment
Summary
This Czech thesis reviewed current knowledge on microplastic contamination in surface and groundwater, covering detection methods, European legislation, distribution across aquatic environments, and transport pathways including the role of wastewater treatment plants. The review concluded with an assessment of potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems, organisms, and human health and identified priority areas for future research.
This thesis provides an expert overview of the issue of microplastics in surface and groundwater, focusing on the latest research findings. The thesis first outlines the characteristics of microplastics as a source of a new type of pollution, a brief history of this issue, an overview of current methods of detection and quantification, and then summarizes the current state of European legislation, which is already trying to regulate both plastic and microplastic pollution. The largest part of the thesis is then dedicated directly to the analysis of studies of the occurrence of microplastics in individual aquatic environments (oceans and seas, rivers and lakes, groundwater), their distribution routes, including the importance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the microplastic cycle. Last but not least, the work outlines the potential impacts of microplastics on aquatic ecosystems, living organisms and human health. The conclusion is then dedicated to describing what the expected research trends are and which areas still need to be explored.