Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater.

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater, documenting contamination pathways from urban, agricultural, and industrial activities and assessing the extent to which synthetic particles have infiltrated subsurface drinking water sources in a country where groundwater supplies approximately 98% of drinking water.

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

Microplastics pollution in groundwater: Case study - Slovenia

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in Slovenian groundwater, which supplies drinking water to 98% of the population, characterizing MP occurrence, transport, and risk across multiple aquifer systems affected by urban, industrial, and agricultural activities.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater.

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution in Slovenia's groundwater, examining how microplastics from urban, agricultural, and industrial activities enter and distribute through subsurface water systems in a country where groundwater supplies approximately 98% of drinking water.

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

Contaminants in Urban Stormwater: Barcelona case study

Researchers analyzed contaminants in urban stormwater runoff in Barcelona, examining dissolved organics, metals, nutrients, and microplastics to assess risks to environmental and public health as cities consider stormwater as a potential groundwater recharge source.

2023 Advances in geosciences 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Contaminants of emerging concern in the urban aquifers of Barcelona: Do they hamper the use of groundwater?

Researchers compiled data on contaminants of emerging concern — including pharmaceuticals, benzotriazoles, and pesticides — in Barcelona's urban aquifers, finding that several compounds including azithromycin, lamotrigine, and gabapentin pose intermediate to very high health risks, particularly for young children, challenging the viability of this groundwater as a drinking source.

2023 Chemosphere 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban and Groundwater Microplastic Contamination: Sources, Distribution, Impacts, and Remediation Technologies

This review addressed microplastic contamination in urban environments and groundwater systems, covering source pathways from roads and stormwater runoff, distribution through urban catchments, and potential impacts on drinking water aquifers. It highlighted groundwater as an understudied but critical exposure pathway.

2024 Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban Stormwater and Groundwater Quality: Pathways, Risks, and Green Infrastructure Solutions

This review examines how urban stormwater runoff transports microplastics, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and pathogens into groundwater, analyzing physicochemical factors affecting pollutant mobility in urban soils and evaluating green infrastructure solutions such as bioswales and permeable pavements.

2025 Environments 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Contaminación de aguas subterráneas. Algunos ejemplos

This Spanish article reviews major sources of groundwater contamination including agricultural chemicals, industrial waste, and urban effluents, and discusses the difficulty of remediating contaminated aquifers. While focused on traditional pollutants, groundwater contamination pathways are also relevant to emerging concerns about microplastic transport in subsurface environments.

2019 RACO (Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert) (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya)
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Micropollutants in Urban Water Run-off

This study investigates the quality of urban stormwater runoff, focusing on concentrations of micropollutants including heavy metals and microplastics. The research evaluates how runoff from urban surfaces contaminates both groundwater and surface water, and assesses current stormwater management strategies in cities.

2023 International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM ...
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in groundwater: a global analysis

Researchers conducted a global groundwater sampling study to characterize microplastic contamination in aquifer systems worldwide, investigating transport mechanisms and fate of particles in anoxic subsurface environments where knowledge gaps remain despite extensive research on surface water systems.

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

Sources and Consequences of Groundwater Contamination

Researchers reviewed sources and health consequences of groundwater contamination across India, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, summarizing both geogenic pollutants (naturally occurring) and anthropogenic contaminants while identifying key gaps in remediation technology and monitoring capacity.

2021 Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 669 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparison of emerging contaminant fingerprinting techniques to assess the impact of human wastewater on karst groundwater quality

This study compared different methods for detecting human wastewater contamination in vulnerable Irish groundwater aquifers, including microplastics as a potential pollution tracer. Karst aquifers are especially vulnerable because direct connections between surface and groundwater make them easy to contaminate.

2021
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Groundwater Contamination in the Southeastern Coast of Brazil: A Potential Threat to Human Health in Marica Municipality

Researchers assessed groundwater contamination in Marica Municipality along Brazil's southeastern coast, finding that rapid urbanization and inadequate sanitation have led to significant sewage pollution. The study suggests that elevated levels of dissolved organic carbon, nutrients, and bacteria in the aquifers pose a potential threat to public health, since groundwater serves as the primary freshwater source for local residents.

2023 Eng—Advances in Engineering 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Groundwater quality: global challenges, emerging threats and novel approaches

This review highlights global groundwater quality challenges including emerging contaminants and antimicrobial resistance, emphasizing the need for significantly improved monitoring to identify and mitigate threats from historical and future pollution sources.

2022 Hydrogeology Journal 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Study of the Trends of Chemical–Physical Parameters in Different Karst Aquifers: Some Examples from Italian Alps

Researchers installed data-loggers and conducted multi-year chemical and physical monitoring of karst aquifer springs in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy to characterize how different hydrogeological conditions influence water quality responses to infiltration events. They found that highly karstified aquifers with small saturated zones showed rapid mineralization decreases during flood events, while well-developed saturated zones exhibited piston flow increases in mineralization.

2022 Water 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban stormwater capture for water supply: look out for persistent, mobile and toxic substances

Urban stormwater harvested for water supply was found to contain persistent, mobile, and toxic substances, raising concerns about water quality risks from this increasingly used alternative water source. The study calls for better characterization of stormwater contaminant profiles before use.

2023 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Influence of Mining Activities on the Quality of Deep Karst Groundwater Based on Multivariate Statistical Analysis and Hydrochemical Analysis

This study examined how long-term coal mining activities in China affected deep karst groundwater chemistry, finding significant changes to water quality that threaten safe drinking water supply in mining regions.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on purification method of micro-polluted groundwater

This review covers sources and treatment methods for micropollutants in groundwater, including heavy metals, ammonia, nitrates, and organic compounds that infiltrate from surface water. Effective remediation of contaminated groundwater is important because many communities depend on it for drinking water.

2023 E3S Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental chemistry, toxicity and health risk assessment of groundwater: Environmental persistence and management strategies

This review examines groundwater contamination from heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics, and emerging pollutants, assessing health risks and highlighting the need for integrated management strategies to protect this critical freshwater resource.

2022 Environmental Research 33 citations
Article Tier 2

A threat beneath the surface: Microplastic contamination in the groundwater of one of Europe's largest wetland complexes

Researchers confirmed microplastic contamination in groundwater samples from one of the world's most populous regions, documenting particle abundance, polymer types, and potential infiltration pathways from surface contamination through soil to subsurface aquifers.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Review of Current Issues and Management Strategies of Microplastics in Groundwater Environments

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic contamination in groundwater, identifying it as a substantially understudied environment compared to surface water and marine systems. The authors describe pathways by which microplastics enter aquifers and discuss management strategies for this largely invisible contamination route.

2022 Water 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in vulnerable karst environments: case study from the Slovenian classical karst region

Researchers sampled karst springs, caves, and other habitats in Slovenia's classical karst region and detected microplastics across multiple sites, including springs used for drinking water, raising concerns about plastic contamination of these ecologically sensitive and hydrologically connected underground environments.

2022 Acta Carsologica 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the impacts of human wastewater effluent pollution on karst springs using chemical contamination fingerprinting techniques

Researchers used multi-tracer chemical fingerprinting to trace human wastewater contamination into karst spring systems, finding that these highly permeable aquifers rapidly transmit pollutants including pharmaceuticals and potentially microplastics from surface sources to drinking water springs.

2024
Article Tier 2

A Global Review of Microplastic Contamination in Groundwater: Empirical Evidence and Latin American Perspectives

Scientists reviewed 129 studies and found that tiny pieces of plastic (called microplastics) are contaminating groundwater around the world, which is concerning because groundwater provides drinking water to billions of people. The research shows we don't know enough about this problem, especially in Latin America where only two studies have actually tested groundwater for plastic contamination. This matters because we need better monitoring and policies to protect our underground water sources from plastic pollution that could affect human health.

2026 Water and Environment Journal