Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Development of harmonized operational protocols for the collection, identification and counting of microplastics within the IAEA NUTEC Plastics initiative

This paper describes the development of harmonized protocols for collecting, identifying, and counting microplastics under the IAEA NUTEC Plastics initiative, designed to enable comparable data across countries. The protocols cover seawater surface, beach sand, and biota sampling using nuclear and complementary analytical techniques.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Caribbean Microplastics problem; harmonization of protocols through the IAEA.

This paper describes efforts by the IAEA NUTEC Plastics project to harmonize microplastic monitoring protocols across Caribbean countries, building regional capacity for standardized data collection and analysis. Participating countries established baseline contamination data using shared methods, enabling cross-country comparisons in a region where previous monitoring was highly fragmented.

2025
Article Tier 2

IAEA-NUTEC plastics initiative: Contributing to the global understanding of microplastic pollution in the ocean

This review examines the IAEA NUTEC Plastics initiative, a global network spanning 86 countries launched in 2019 to harmonize microplastic monitoring methods in marine and coastal environments, build national research capacity, and support achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14.1 on reducing marine pollution.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

IAEA-NUTEC plastics initiative: Contributing to the global understanding of microplastic pollution in the ocean

This review examines the IAEA NUTEC Plastics initiative, a global network spanning 86 countries launched in 2019 to harmonize microplastic monitoring methods in marine and coastal environments, build national research capacity, and support achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14.1 on reducing marine pollution.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

IAEA-NUTEC Plastics Initiative: Advancing Global Understanding of Microplastic Pollution in the Ocean

This study describes the IAEA-NUTEC Plastics initiative, which is establishing a coordinated network of laboratories in over 100 countries to implement standardized microplastic sampling and analysis protocols, using radiometric and advanced technologies to improve the accuracy and cross-regional comparability of ocean microplastic data.

2025
Article Tier 2

Standardised protocol for monitoring microplastics in sediments. Deliverable 4.2.

This paper presents a standardized protocol for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments, developed as part of an international project to harmonize sampling and analysis methods across different research groups. Having consistent protocols is essential for generating comparable data to track plastic pollution trends over time and location.

2018 IOC of UNESCO (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Method for Quantifying and Characterization of Microplastics in Sand Beaches

This paper proposes a standardized method for sampling and characterizing microplastics in beach sand to improve comparability across studies. Consistent methodology is critical because current variation in field and lab techniques makes it difficult to combine or compare data from different research groups.

2020 Revista Internacional de Contaminación Ambiental 29 citations
Article Tier 2

A standardized method for sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in beach sand

This study developed and tested a standardized method for sampling microplastics from beach sand, evaluating how sample volume, sampling depth, and extraction technique affect measured concentrations. Standardization is critical because current methodological variability makes it impossible to compare results across different beaches or studies.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 395 citations
Article Tier 2

Standardised protocol for monitoring microplastics in seawater. Deliverable 4.1.

This protocol establishes standardized methods for monitoring microplastics in seawater as part of a coordinated European effort to understand the scale and distribution of ocean plastic pollution. Standardized monitoring is essential for producing the comparable data needed to inform policy and conservation responses.

2019 IOC of UNESCO (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) 21 citations
Article Tier 2

A field and laboratory manual for sampling, processing and reporting microplastics in coastal and marine environments

This paper presents a comprehensive, standardized field and laboratory guideline for sampling, processing, and reporting microplastics in coastal and marine environments, developed through international collaboration. The harmonized protocols aim to improve comparability of data across global monitoring programmes.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Tackling plastic pollution together: Examples of international collaboration for the monitoring and reporting of microlitter (including microplastics).

Researchers developed an international laboratory network of 15 facilities across Vanuatu, Belize, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia through the Commonwealth Litter Programme and Ocean Country Partnership Programme, providing harmonized equipment, protocols, and training to enable comparable microplastic monitoring in Global South countries. This collaborative infrastructure approach demonstrates how large laboratory networks with standardized methods are essential for producing large-scale baseline assessments of microplastic pollution.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Identifying opportunities for harmonized microplastics and mesoplastics monitoring for Caribbean Small Island Developing States using a spatiotemporal assessment of beaches in South Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Researchers assessed microplastic and mesoplastic pollution across 16 beaches with different coastal exposures in the Bahamas, finding that microplastics were the dominant debris type at 74 percent of samples, with significant differences between locations and seasons. The study highlights that Caribbean Small Island Developing States lack standardized monitoring protocols for microplastic pollution, leaving them without the data needed to participate effectively in global treaty negotiations. The findings point toward opportunities for developing harmonized monitoring approaches across the Caribbean region.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic pollution in sand beach from SW Atlantic coast (Argentina) using a regional harmonized method.

Researchers assessed microplastic pollution on sand beaches of the SW Atlantic coast of Argentina using a regionally harmonised sampling and analysis method, characterising particle morphology, colour, size, and polymer type in a country that produces over 1.16 million tons of plastic annually. The study aimed to identify sources and fate of beach microplastics and establish a standardised baseline for future regional monitoring.

2025
Article Tier 2

A breakthrough in the harmonization of microplastics monitoring protocols in latin american region

This paper describes progress toward harmonizing microplastic monitoring protocols across Latin American countries, aiming to create consistent, comparable data from a region with significant plastic pollution challenges but historically fragmented scientific approaches. Standardized monitoring is a prerequisite for effective regional policy and for understanding how plastic pollution flows through South and Central American river systems.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A breakthrough in the harmonization of microplastics monitoring protocols in latin american region

This paper describes progress toward harmonizing microplastic monitoring protocols across Latin American countries, aiming to create consistent, comparable data from a region with significant plastic pollution challenges but historically fragmented scientific approaches. Standardized monitoring is a prerequisite for effective regional policy and for understanding how plastic pollution flows through South and Central American river systems.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A critical review of the novel analytical methods for the determination of microplastics in sand and sediment samples

This review critically assessed novel analytical methods for detecting microplastics in sand and sediment samples, comparing extraction procedures and identification techniques while highlighting the need for standardized protocols across laboratories.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Global measurement of surface water microplastics using a unified size threshold

A globally deployable measurement approach was developed for monitoring microplastics on water surfaces using a unified protocol applicable across different geographic regions. Standardized global measurement methods are critical for generating comparable data needed to assess the scale of ocean plastic pollution.

2025 Water Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of the environments, biota, and methods used in microplastics research in South Africa

This review assesses the current state of microplastic research in South Africa, finding that while the country leads the African continent in publications, many studies use inconsistent methods that limit comparability. The authors call for a standardized national approach to microplastic sampling and analysis, noting that terrestrial and atmospheric environments remain largely uninvestigated.

2024 South African Journal of Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Methods for sampling, processing, identification,and quantification of microplastics in the marine environment

This paper reviews and compares the various methods used to collect, process, identify, and quantify microplastics across different environmental samples. It highlights the lack of standardized protocols as a major obstacle to comparing results across studies and calls for methodological harmonization.

2020 Oceanography in Japan 12 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in African countries’ water systems: a review on findings, applied methods, characteristics, impacts, and managements

This review synthesizes findings on microplastic pollution in water systems across African countries, highlighting methodological approaches, particle characteristics, sources, and impacts, while noting the limited but growing body of African microplastic research.

2021 SN Applied Sciences 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of two procedures for microplastics analysis in sediments based on an interlaboratory exercise

Researchers compared two laboratory procedures for extracting and identifying microplastics in sediments through an interlaboratory exercise, evaluating a 'core' method and an 'augmentation' method using visual microscopy for particle identification, and providing recommendations to improve standardization of sediment microplastic analysis.

2022 Chemosphere 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the efficiency of microplastics extraction methods for tropical beach sediments and matrix preparation for experimental controls

Researchers tested and compared multiple methods for extracting microplastics from tropical beach sediment samples and evaluated how to prepare reliable experimental controls, finding that method choice significantly affects both recovery efficiency and particle counts. Standardizing extraction protocols is essential for generating comparable baseline data across study sites — a prerequisite for designing evidence-based policies to address microplastic pollution on beaches.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in Africa: an overview of abundance in aquatic organisms, freshwater and marine water environments and analytical methods for reporting

This review provides an overview of microplastic pollution across Africa, covering contamination levels in aquatic organisms, freshwater and marine environments, and the analytical methods used in studies across the continent. Researchers found that microplastic pollution is widespread in African waters, though standardized detection and reporting methods are needed to enable better cross-study comparisons.

2023 Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A Basis for Standardization: Optimizing Sampling Methods and Quantities for Accurate Microplastic Assessment in a Marine Environment

Scientists studied the best ways to find and count tiny plastic pieces (microplastics) in ocean water and beach sand, since these plastics can harm sea life and potentially affect the food we eat from the ocean. They found that researchers need to collect at least 30 grams of sand and 10 liters of water to get accurate counts of how much plastic pollution is really there. Getting these measurements right is important because it helps us understand how much plastic pollution is entering our food chain through seafood.

2026 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B