Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Transforming Pollution into Purity: Ensuring Water Quality for Human Health and Environmental Sustainability

This review examines global threats to water quality from contaminants including microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals, and their consequences for human health and ecosystems. The authors advocate for a comprehensive strategy combining source protection, advanced treatment technologies like constructed wetlands and advanced oxidation, and robust governance to ensure safe water access.

2026
Article Tier 2

Human Health Risks due to Exposure to Water Pollution: A Review

This review looks at how water contamination from various sources -- including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals -- threatens public health worldwide. The health effects depend on the type of pollutant and length of exposure, and the paper highlights that microplastics are an emerging concern because they can carry other toxic substances into drinking water.

2023 Water 318 citations
Article Tier 2

Water Pollution: A Menace to Mankind

This review discusses sources of water contamination — including faecal, domestic, and industrial wastes — and their threats to human and aquatic health, with a focus on microplastic pollution as an emerging concern. The authors call for improved water management policies to safeguard human health.

2025 Sumerianz Journal of Medical and Healthcare
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of Surface Water Bodies and Public Health

This review examines the toxicity of surface water bodies caused by industrial development, agricultural runoff, and improper waste disposal, and its consequences for public health. Researchers found that heavy metal contamination, organic pollutants, and microplastics are among the key threats degrading freshwater quality worldwide. The study highlights the urgent need for improved water quality monitoring and treatment to protect communities that depend on surface waters for drinking and daily use.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing the global challenge of coastal sewage pollution

This review examines how untreated sewage -- which carries microplastics along with nutrients, pathogens, and heavy metals -- pollutes coastal environments where nearly half the world's population lives. Over 80% of sewage enters the environment without treatment, threatening marine ecosystems and human health through contaminated seafood and waterborne diseases.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Water Pollution: The Problems and Solutions

This review provides a broad overview of water pollution sources and solutions, covering industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and urban wastewater as major contributors to water contamination. The article examines both traditional and innovative approaches to cleaning up polluted water, including emerging contaminants like microplastics. Understanding the full scope of water pollution is important because microplastics often interact with other pollutants, making their combined health effects potentially worse.

2024 Science Insights 11 citations
Article Tier 2

How to protect water sources from microplastic contamination?

This research review summarizes studies showing that tiny plastic particles called microplastics are getting into our water sources from clothing, cars, cosmetics, and household wastewater. These plastic bits can carry harmful chemicals and germs that build up in fish and other sea life, which then affects humans when we eat seafood or drink contaminated water. The authors say we need global action to reduce plastic pollution to protect both the environment and human health.

2026 Journal of Fisheries
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Water Pollution Caused by Plastic Waste: A Threat to Ecosystems and Health

This review investigates how microplastics and larger plastic waste contaminate water bodies, disrupt aquatic life, damage biodiversity, and enter food chains, posing risks to both ecosystems and human health. The study uses a quantitative approach to assess pollution impacts and presents strategies including reduced plastic use, improved waste disposal, and promotion of sustainable alternatives.

2022 Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology
Article Tier 2

Research on the Current Status of Global Water Pollution and Corresponding Countermeasures

This paper reviews the current state of global water pollution, identifying industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and untreated wastewater as key causes, alongside emerging pollutants like microplastics and pharmaceuticals. Case studies from Pakistan and China illustrate the range from severe contamination to successful regulatory intervention. The authors emphasize that addressing water pollution requires advanced treatment technologies, stronger regulations, and international cooperation.

2025 Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment: Occurrence, Persistence, Analysis, and Human Exposure

This review synthesizes global research on microplastic occurrence in aquatic environments, from rivers and lakes to wastewater and seafood, and examines how these particles eventually reach humans. Researchers found that microplastics are now ubiquitous in freshwater and marine systems, with trophic transfer and biomagnification serving as key routes of human exposure. The study highlights the need for standardized sampling and analysis methods to enable better comparison across studies and more accurate risk assessment.

2021 Water 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environment: Challenges and perspectives

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in water environments, covering sources, transport, health effects, detection methods, and control strategies. Microplastics enter waterways from everyday plastic products, industrial discharge, and wastewater treatment plants, where aquatic organisms ingest them and pass them up the food chain. The review highlights the urgent need for better analytical techniques and global policies to reduce microplastic contamination that ultimately reaches human food and drinking water.

2021 Chemosphere 298 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in water is a threat for human health and the environment (literature review)

This literature review examines the growing problem of microplastic contamination in water bodies and drinking water worldwide. Evidence indicates that microplastics pose concerns for human health both through their physical effects and through the chemicals and microorganisms they can carry, with studies confirming their presence in marine and freshwater environments across multiple countries.

2023 Health risk analysis 6 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastic Pollution and Monitoring in Seawater and Harbor Environments: A Meta-Analysis and Review

This meta-analysis reviews microplastic pollution levels in seawater and harbors worldwide, finding that contamination is widespread and persistent. The research matters for human health because marine microplastics enter the food chain through fish and shellfish, representing a significant route of exposure for seafood consumers.

2023 Sustainability 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contaminants in the aqueous environment, fate, toxicity consequences, and remediation strategies

This review covers the sources, fate, and toxic effects of microplastic contaminants in aquatic environments, along with current remediation strategies for removing them. Researchers found that microplastics cause various health problems in aquatic organisms and can enter the human food chain through contaminated seafood and water. The study emphasizes the urgent need for improved waste management and novel cleanup technologies to address microplastic pollution in water systems.

2021 Environmental Research 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Detrimental Effects of Industrial Wastewater on the Environment and Health

This review examines how industrial wastewater discharged into the environment harms ecosystems and human health. Untreated wastewater from industries carries heavy metals, synthetic chemicals, and plastics that contaminate drinking water sources and accumulate in food chains. The authors argue that stronger enforcement of wastewater treatment standards is urgently needed.

2021 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater and marine ecosystems: Occurrence, characterization, sources, distribution dynamics, fate, transport processes, potential mitigation strategies, and policy interventions

This review summarizes research on microplastic pollution across freshwater and marine ecosystems on all six continents, finding that polyethylene and polypropylene are the most common types found in water. The study highlights that microplastics serve as carriers for toxic chemicals and can move up the food chain, ultimately posing risks to human health through seafood consumption and drinking water.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 75 citations
Article Tier 2

A Current Review of Water Pollutants in American Continent: Trends and Perspectives in Detection, Health Risks, and Treatment Technologies

This review surveys water pollution across the American continent, covering heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and emerging contaminants including microplastics. The authors found a wide diversity of pollutants affecting water bodies throughout the region, with treatment solutions needing to be tailored to local conditions. The review emphasizes that water treatment facilities must be designed to address the specific mix of contaminants present, including the growing challenge of microplastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 62 citations
Article Tier 2

The Unseen Threat of the Synergistic Effects of Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environments: A Critical Review

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals interact in water environments, finding that microplastics can attract and concentrate toxic metals on their surfaces through various chemical forces. This combination effect is a concern for human health because contaminated microplastics carrying heavy metals can be consumed through seafood, delivering a double dose of pollutants.

2024 Current Pollution Reports 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics a Hidden Threat in our Food and Water Supply

Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — enter ecosystems through runoff, wastewater, and air, and accumulate in both aquatic and land organisms, threatening biodiversity and human health through the food chain. The review also highlights monitoring technologies and the importance of strong governance to address this growing global contamination problem.

2025
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Status, Effects, Prevention, and Remediation of Groundwater Contamination for Sustainable Environment

This review examines the state of groundwater contamination worldwide, including pollution from industrial chemicals, pesticides, and plastic-related contaminants. Unsafe water contributed to 1.2 million deaths globally in 2019, with low-income countries disproportionately affected. The paper discusses various cleanup methods and emphasizes the urgent need to protect groundwater, which is a primary source of drinking water for billions of people.

2023 Water 61 citations