Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental pollution indices: a review on concentration of heavy metals in air, water, and soil near industrialization and urbanisation

This review examines how industrial and urban activity raises heavy metal levels in air, water, and soil. Heavy metals from industrial waste, mining, and agriculture can damage cells and increase cancer risk, highlighting the need for comprehensive monitoring near industrial zones.

2024 Discover Environment 110 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation Characteristics and Pollution Evaluation of Soil Heavy Metals in Different Land Use Types: Study on the Whole Region of Tianjin

Researchers analyzed heavy metal accumulation across different land use types throughout Tianjin, China, finding that pollution levels and spatial distribution varied significantly by land use, with industrial and traffic-related activities identified as primary contamination sources.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Bibliometric and visual analysis of heavy metal health risk assessment: development, hotspots and trends

Researchers conducted a bibliometric analysis of heavy metal health risk assessment literature from 2000 to 2022, identifying development trends and research hotspots. The study reveals growing global attention to environmental heavy metal contamination, which often co-occurs with microplastic pollution in soil and water systems.

2024 Archives of Environmental Protection 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring heavy metal dynamics and risks from dust and soil in urban cities of Jharkhand, India

Researchers assessed heavy metal contamination in indoor dust, street dust, and soil across four major cities in Jharkhand, India, finding that zinc, copper, and lead were the most common pollutants. Indoor dust showed higher metal concentrations than outdoor samples, suggesting significant indoor contamination sources from vehicles, paints, and manufacturing. The study emphasizes the need for stricter regulations to mitigate metal emissions in industrialized urban areas.

2024 Scientific Reports 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Microplastics and Heavy Metal Contamination in Urban Road Dust: A Case Study from Begusarai, Bihar

Road dust samples from 33 sites across five land-use zones in Begusarai, Bihar, India contained microplastics at all locations alongside elevated heavy metals, with industrial and commercial zones showing the highest combined contamination and estimated human health risks.

2025
Article Tier 2

Advances in Studies on Heavy Metals in Urban Soil: A Bibliometric Analysis

This bibliometric analysis maps two decades of research on heavy metal contamination in urban soils, identifying key trends, leading researchers, and priority topics. The field has grown significantly, with focus areas including pollution source identification, health risk assessment, and the use of environmental magnetism techniques. While centered on heavy metals rather than microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics in urban soil often carry and concentrate heavy metals, creating combined pollution that threatens human health.

2024 Sustainability 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Heavy Metal Contamination in Urban Soils: Health Impacts on Humans and Plants: A Review

This review examines how heavy metals from factories, vehicle emissions, and improper waste disposal accumulate in urban soils and affect human health. Exposure to these contaminated soils has been linked to breathing problems, brain disorders, and general toxicity. The findings highlight the need for soil monitoring and cleanup strategies to protect city residents.

2024 European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban geochemical changes and pollution with potentially harmful elements in seven Russian cities

Researchers measured concentrations of potentially harmful metals (lead, zinc, copper) in street dust and surface sediment across seven large Russian cities, reconstructing pre-industrial baselines to calculate how much human activity has changed local geochemistry. The study introduces new pollution ranking criteria that better capture city-specific contamination patterns than standard metrics.

2020 Scientific Reports 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Potentially Toxic Trace Elements in the Urban Soils of Santiago de Compostela (Northwestern Spain)

Scientists measured potentially toxic metals (copper, lead, zinc, nickel, chromium, arsenic) in urban soils across the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, finding elevated concentrations in areas with heavy traffic and industrial activity. The study highlights how urban land use drives heavy metal contamination, which often co-occurs with microplastic pollution.

2021 Applied Sciences 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification Sources and High-Risk Areas of Sediment Heavy Metals in the Yellow River by Geographical Detector Method

Scientists measured heavy metal contamination in river sediments of the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia, identifying industrial emissions and agricultural activities as the main sources. While focused on heavy metals, the research is relevant because microplastics frequently co-occur with and transport heavy metal pollutants in river systems.

2021 Water 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variability of Cadmium and Lead in Urban Soils of Thessaloniki (northern Greece).

This study monitored cadmium and lead contamination in urban soils of Thessaloniki, Greece over two years, finding variable heavy metal levels linked to traffic and industrial activity. Heavy metals and microplastics frequently co-occur in urban environments and can interact to increase combined toxicity.

2023 Global NEST International Conference on Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Freshly fallen snow with full of microplastics: A scientific research in Riga central and peripheral area, Latvia.

Researchers sampled freshly fallen snow at six locations around Riga, Latvia, and detected microplastics at all sites using µFTIR imaging, demonstrating that atmospheric deposition carries plastic particles across both urban and more rural areas of the city.

2023
Article Tier 2

Tendencias metodológicas en la evaluación del grado de contaminación y de riesgos por metales pesados presentes en sedimentos viales urbanos

This systematic review (in Spanish) analyzes global trends in methods used to assess heavy metal contamination in urban road sediments from 1995 to 2018. While focused on metals rather than microplastics, the study covers assessment frameworks applicable to roadside pollution that can co-occur with plastic tire particles.

2020 Revista UIS Ingenierías 3 citations
Review Tier 2

Traffic-related metals in urban snow cover: A review of the literature data and the feasibility of filling gaps by field data collection

Researchers reviewed the existing literature on traffic-related metal contamination in urban snow and found that zinc and copper were the metals of greatest environmental concern. They noted that comparing results across studies was difficult due to varying site conditions and sampling methods. The study identifies data gaps for less commonly measured metals and highlights urban snow as a transport medium for pollutants, including microplastics, into waterways during snowmelt.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing spatial variability and source identification of heavy metals in agricultural soils: A geostatistical and multivariate analysis of coastal eastern Zhejiang, China

Researchers used geostatistical and multivariate analysis techniques to assess the spatial variability and sources of five heavy metals in agricultural soils along the coast of eastern Zhejiang, China. While focused primarily on heavy metals rather than microplastics, the study provides methodology relevant to understanding pollutant distribution in coastal agricultural areas. The findings identified industrial emissions, agricultural practices, and natural geological processes as key contamination sources.

2026 PLoS ONE
Article Tier 2

Study of the presence of microplastic particles and heavy metals in street dust on the right side of Mosul city / Iraq

Researchers analyzed microplastic particles and heavy metal concentrations in street dust samples collected from residential, commercial, and industrial areas on the right bank of Mosul city in Iraq. The study assessed the combined pollution burden and potential environmental health risks associated with microplastic and heavy metal co-contamination in urban street dust.

2025 Maǧallaẗ abḥāṯ kulliyyaẗ al-tarbiyaẗ al-asāsiyyaẗ/Mağallaẗ abḥāṯ kulliyyaẗ al-tarbiyaẗ al-asāsiyyaẗ
Review Tier 2

Global hotspots and trends in interactions of microplastics and heavy metals: a bibliometric analysis and literature review

This bibliometric review analyzed over 550 published studies on how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment. The research shows that microplastics can absorb heavy metals from surrounding water and soil, concentrating these toxic substances and carrying them into living organisms. This combined contamination is a growing concern for human health because microplastics may deliver concentrated doses of heavy metals into the body through food and water.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 32 citations
Article Tier 2

An insight into the ecological risks and mitigation of heavy metal pollution in aquatic sediments and marine ecosystems

This review examines heavy metal pollution in aquatic sediments and marine ecosystems, covering contamination sources, ecological risks, and mitigation strategies. The study highlights the deterioration of aquatic zones due to rising pollution from urbanization and industrialization, and discusses how pollutants including microplastics interact with heavy metals to affect biogeochemical cycling and the food chain.

2026 Frontiers in Bacteriology
Article Tier 2

Snow dumping station – A considerable source of tyre wear, microplastics, and heavy metal pollution

Researchers investigated microplastic and tire wear particle pollution in snow from dumping stations in Riga, Latvia, and found substantially higher contamination levels in urban areas compared to remote reference sites. The study identified tire wear particles as a major contributor, with microplastic concentrations reaching up to 2,549 particles per liter of melted snow, highlighting snow dumping stations as a notable source of waterway pollution.

2024 Environment International 16 citations
Article Tier 2

An Investigation of Microplastic Occurrence and Heavy Metals Concentrations in Street Dust on the Left Side of Mosul City, Iraq

Street dust collected from Mosul, Iraq contained microplastic particles across residential, commercial, and industrial zones, alongside elevated concentrations of heavy metals. The co-occurrence of microplastics and toxic metals in urban dust is a concern for human health, as both can be inhaled or ingested by city residents, particularly children.

2024 Journal of Ecological Engineering 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of potentially toxic elements in groundwater through interpolation, pollution indices, and chemometric techniques in Dehradun in Uttarakhand State

Researchers assessed potentially toxic heavy metals (including iron, cadmium, lead, and chromium) in groundwater across an industrial region of northern India, finding contamination levels linked to agricultural runoff, industrial discharge, and land use patterns that pose ongoing health risks to local communities.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of land use class and configuration on water-sediment partitioning of heavy metals

Researchers analyzed how land use patterns and population density influence the partitioning of heavy metals between river water and sediment, finding that agricultural land discharges the highest dissolved metal fractions and that fragmenting anthropogenic land into smaller patches reduces water-column metal pollution.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial distribution characteristics and pollution evaluation of soil heavy metals in Wulongdong National Forest Park

Researchers investigated the spatial distribution and pollution levels of seven heavy metals in soils across Wulongdong National Forest Park at different altitudes and slope orientations. The study found that while most heavy metal concentrations were near natural background levels, certain elements showed localized enrichment, highlighting the importance of monitoring even protected natural areas.

2024 Scientific Reports 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetic Particles Weight as an Indicator for Heavy Metals Concentration

Researchers tested whether the mass of magnetic particles in soil could serve as a proxy indicator for heavy metal contamination in urban environments. Magnetic particle content correlated with concentrations of lead, zinc, and other metals from traffic and industrial sources. While not focused on microplastics, urban heavy metal contamination often co-occurs with microplastic pollution from the same traffic and industrial sources.

2021 Letters in Applied NanoBioScience 2 citations