Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Impact of Microplastics on Marine life and Human Health

This review summarizes how microplastics — tiny plastic particles less than 5mm — originate predominantly from land-based human activities and enter the ocean, where they combine with toxic chemicals and microbes to threaten marine life and human health. The authors call for dedicated funding and cross-sector collaboration to advance microplastics research and inform policy.

2025
Article Tier 2

Current Scenario on the Impact of Microplastics on the Environment, Marine, and Humans

This review surveys the current state of microplastic pollution -- particles smaller than 5 mm from environmental plastic degradation and intentional microbead manufacturing -- in environmental, marine, and human contexts. The authors summarize contamination pathways, concentrations across environmental matrices, and the emerging evidence for health effects from dietary and inhalation exposure.

2024 OAJRC Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Ecosystem – an Overview

This overview reviews how microplastics—particles smaller than 5 mm—originate from plastic degradation, are found globally in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, can be ingested by animals at multiple trophic levels, and pose risks to human health through chemical leaching and endocrine disruption. It highlights the need for further research on pollution control and mitigation strategies.

2025 Indian Science Cruiser
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics on marine organisms: Present perspectives and the way forward

Researchers reviewed how microplastics — small plastic particles less than 5 mm — affect marine life from microscopic phytoplankton all the way up to marine mammals and humans, finding documented harms across nearly every level of ocean life. The review calls for urgent research into environmentally realistic exposure levels and stronger policies to reduce single-use plastic production.

2022 The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Theoretical Review on Microplastic Pollution: A Multifaceted Threat to Marine Ecosystems, Human Health, and Environment

This review provides a broad overview of how microplastic pollution threatens marine ecosystems and human health through multiple pathways including seafood consumption, drinking water, and air inhalation. Researchers summarized evidence that microplastics cause physical harm to marine species, transport toxic chemicals through food webs, and may be linked to inflammatory and hormonal disruption in humans. The study emphasizes that addressing this problem requires coordinated policy changes, better waste management, and development of biodegradable plastic alternatives.

2024 IgMin Research 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiple Effects, Pathways, and Potential Health Risks from Environmental Microplastic Exposure

This review synthesizes nearly two decades of research on the multiple pathways through which environmental microplastics affect human and ecological health, including chemical toxicity, physical impacts, and potential roles as carriers of pathogens and contaminants.

2025 Toxics
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms and in Human Health

This review examines the impacts of microplastics on marine ecosystems and human health, covering ingestion by marine organisms across all trophic levels, from plankton to large mammals. The authors also review the human health risks associated with microplastics detected in food, water, and air. The review calls for urgent global action to reduce plastic production and improve waste management before contamination becomes irreversible.

2021 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution, a threat to marine ecosystem and human health: a short review

This review summarizes the growing problem of microplastic pollution in marine and freshwater environments, covering sources ranging from cosmetics to industrial processes. Researchers highlight that microplastics accumulate in marine organisms and can transfer through food webs, with potential chronic effects on both wildlife and humans. The paper emphasizes the urgent need for policies to reduce plastic use and improve waste management to protect aquatic ecosystems.

2017 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1021 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of marine microplastic on marine life and the food webs – A detailed review

This review provides a comprehensive look at microplastic pollution in marine environments, covering sources, impacts on marine life, and risks to human health through the seafood supply chain. Microplastics cause physical harm like gut blockages in marine animals and can carry toxic chemicals that accumulate up the food chain. The authors emphasize that with global plastic production still rising, urgent policy action and better waste management are needed to protect both ocean ecosystems and human health.

2024 Marine Ecology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

How Do Nanoplastics and Microplastics Impact Human Health?

This review examines how nanoplastics and microplastics impact human health not only through direct particle exposure but also indirectly through their degradation of ecosystem services and environmental health. The authors synthesize evidence showing MPs are omnipresent in nature, that NPs are accumulating as MP fragmentation continues, and that the combined direct and indirect pathways represent a growing and multifaceted human health concern.

2022
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in ecosystems and health

This review summarizes how microplastics originate from degrading macroplastics and intentionally manufactured products, describes their impacts on marine organisms and human health, and surveys emerging recycling technologies and regulatory responses. It provides a useful plain-language synthesis of why microplastics are a dual environmental-and-health problem, acting both as physical contaminants and as vectors for toxic chemicals.

2023 ECORFAN Journal Republic of Guatemala
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution: Threats and Impacts on Global Marine Ecosystems

This study maps the global distribution of microplastic pollution in oceans and examines how it affects marine wildlife and enters the human food chain. Microplastics accumulate heavily along coastlines and in areas like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where they are ingested by marine animals. As contaminated seafood reaches human plates, microplastic pollution becomes a direct public health concern.

2023 Sustainability 73 citations
Article Tier 2

The Environmental and Health Implications of Microplastics on Human and Aquatic Life

This review summarizes the harmful effects of microplastics on both aquatic ecosystems and human health, covering physical injury, chemical toxicity, and immune disruption in marine organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can accumulate through the food chain and potentially affect human health through seafood consumption and other exposure routes. The study highlights the urgent need for policy interventions to reduce plastic pollution at its source.

2024 International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic effects on marine and freshwater environments

Researchers reviewed current literature on how plastic pollution harms marine and freshwater environments, finding that microplastics have become a primary concern across studies covering animal health, human health, and ecosystem impacts. A key gap identified is the lack of clear connections linking plastic effects across these three domains — environment, wildlife, and human health — into a unified understanding.

2023 Water Biology and Security 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the ecotoxicological effects of micro and nano-plastics on aquatic organisms and human health

This review summarizes the growing body of evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics affect aquatic organisms and, through the food chain, potentially human health. The tiny plastic particles absorb toxic pollutants and pathogens from the water, acting as carriers that deliver these harmful substances into the bodies of fish, shellfish, and other organisms. The review highlights that both direct plastic toxicity and indirect chemical exposure through contaminated seafood pose risks to human consumers.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

An Overview on Microplastics Hazards to the Marine Ecosystem and Humans’ Health

This overview examines how microplastics contaminate marine environments and threaten both ocean life and human health. Microplastics can be swallowed by marine organisms, pass through intestinal walls, spread to other organs, and carry toxic chemicals up the food chain to humans. The main ways people are exposed include eating contaminated seafood, breathing in airborne particles, and skin contact.

2025 Water 21 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic pollution and its impacts on marine life and human health: a literature review

This literature review summarized how microplastics are generated from larger plastic debris and the physical and toxic harms they cause to marine organisms and humans. In humans, particles smaller than 20 micrometers can penetrate cell membranes and potentially reach internal organs.

2021 IJS - International Journal of Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics, their effects on ecosystems, and general strategies for mitigation of microplastics: A review of recent developments, challenges, and future prospects

This review covers the harmful effects of microplastics on human health, animals, and ecosystems, noting that people face risks including inflammation, toxic effects, and potential chronic disease from exposure. The paper also examines current strategies to reduce microplastic pollution, including better waste management and development of sustainable materials to replace conventional plastics.

2025 Environmental Pollution and Management 19 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Global Review of Distribution, Ecotoxicological Impacts, and Human Health Risks

This global review summarizes how microplastics are distributed across freshwater, marine, and polar environments, and examines their ecological and human health impacts. People are exposed through contaminated seafood, water, and air, and research links microplastic exposure to oxidative stress, inflammation, hormone disruption, and possible genetic effects at the cellular level.

2025 Water 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Health and Environmental Impact of Microplastics

This chapter examined the health and environmental impacts of microplastics (under 5 mm) and nanoplastics (1–1000 nm), reviewing their primary and secondary sources, distribution pathways, mechanisms of harm to organisms and ecosystems, and strategies for reducing human exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as a Serious Challenge in Marine Environment

This review summarizes how microplastics accumulate in marine environments, acting as carriers for other toxic chemicals and posing health risks to marine organisms and the humans who eat them. The paper highlights the dual threat of microplastics as both physical contaminants and vectors for co-pollutants.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Their Impacts on Organisms and Trophic Chains

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic pollution, examining the mechanisms by which microplastics affect organisms at multiple levels of biological organization and how plastic particles transfer through trophic chains, accumulating and potentially magnifying in concentration up the food web. Researchers highlight evidence for physical, chemical, and microbial impacts on organisms ranging from invertebrates to mammals, including humans, and identify priority areas for future ecotoxicological research.

2022 Water 8 citations
Article Tier 2

A Summary of the Transporting Mechanism of Microplastics in Marine Food Chain and its Effects to Humans

This review summarized how microplastics are transported through marine food chains from plankton to fish to humans, detailing toxic effects at each trophic level and outlining mitigation strategies to reduce ecological and human health risks from oceanic plastic pollution.

2022 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Human Health: A Global Public Health Crisis

This review of existing research shows that tiny plastic particles smaller than 5mm are now found everywhere in our environment and may pose serious health risks when we breathe or eat them. These microplastics act like magnets for toxic chemicals, and workers exposed to high levels already show increased rates of lung disease and cancer. The authors argue we need immediate global action to reduce plastic pollution before these health effects become widespread in the general population.

2026 Indian Journal of Community Medicine