Papers

20 results
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Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic Contamination, an Emerging Threat to the Freshwater Environment and Human Health: A Systematic Review

This systematic review summarizes existing research on microplastic contamination in freshwater environments and its implications for human health. The evidence shows that microplastics are widespread in rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources, and they can absorb toxic chemicals, making freshwater plastic pollution a direct concern for the safety of our water supply.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in drinking water: a macro issue

This review examines the growing concern of microplastic contamination in drinking water sources, noting that microplastics are found not only in oceans but also in freshwater and tap water. The study highlights that beyond direct harm, microplastics can act as carriers for other contaminants, making their presence in drinking water a significant issue for human health.

2022 Water Science & Technology Water Supply 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Hazards on Water Quality and Human Health

This paper summarizes the hazards of microplastics to water quality and human health. It highlights key exposure routes and the range of potential health concerns associated with microplastic contamination in drinking water and food sources.

2021
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

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
Article Tier 2

Presence of Microplastics in Drinking Water and Its Impact on Human Health

This review examined evidence for microplastic presence in drinking water sources and distribution systems, discussing how plastic particles form from the fragmentation of larger plastics and reviewing the emerging evidence for human health impacts from drinking water MP exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Soil and Water and the Potential Effects on Human Health: A Review

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on microplastic pollution in soil and water environments and its potential effects on human health. Researchers compiled evidence showing that microplastics are now found throughout food chains, drinking water, and air, creating multiple exposure pathways for people. The study highlights that while microplastic contamination is widespread, more research is needed to fully understand the long-term health implications of chronic human exposure.

2025 Processes 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics influencing aquatic environment and human health: A review of source, determination, distribution, removal, degradation, management strategy and future perspective

This review paper provides a broad summary of microplastic pollution in water environments, covering where they come from, how to detect them, how they spread, and how to remove them. The authors emphasize that microplastics persist for extremely long periods in water and can harm both aquatic life and human health, calling for better management strategies worldwide.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 17 citations
Article Tier 2

[Presence of microplastics in water and the potential impact on public health].

This review summarizes what is known about microplastic contamination in drinking water and its potential effects on human health, noting that plastics can enter water supplies through weathering and industrial processes. The authors highlight concerns about physical toxicity, chemical leaching, and the role of microplastics as carriers for pathogens and pollutants, calling for more research and regulatory attention.

2019 Revista espanola de salud publica
Article Tier 2

Microplastic: Unveiling the Stealthy Polluters in Our Water

This review covers microplastic contamination in water sources, documenting sources, environmental pathways, analytical detection methods, and potential human health risks from drinking water containing plastic particles, along with emerging mitigation strategies.

2025 Personalia Pelajar
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment and their Impact on Aquatic Organisms and Humans: A Review

This review summarizes research on microplastic occurrence across marine water, freshwater, drinking water, wastewater, food, and air, characterizing microplastics as the most hazardous emerging contaminants of the 21st century given their ubiquity and persistence. The review underscores that human exposure through multiple simultaneous pathways — including food, water, and respiration — makes understanding cumulative health risks a critical research and public health priority.

2023 Acta Scientific Pharmaceutical Sciences
Article Tier 2

Investigating the Human Impacts and the Environmental Consequences of Microplastics Disposal into Water Resources

This study provides a systematic review of microplastic pollution in water resources, covering detection methods, analytical techniques, environmental depletion patterns, and human health implications, based on a comprehensive literature analysis from the 1970s onward.

2022 Sustainability 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: Sources, Ecotoxicity, Detection & Remediation

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic sources, ecotoxicity, detection methods, and remediation strategies in aquatic environments. Researchers found that microplastics act as carriers for toxic chemicals and pose threats to both marine and freshwater ecosystems as well as human health through drinking water exposure. The study highlights the need for improved detection technologies and effective remediation approaches to address this growing environmental challenge.

2021 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Potential Health Risks from Microplastics in Drinking Water

This review assesses the potential human health risks of microplastics in drinking water, noting that while microplastics are widely detected, the health effects at typical exposure levels remain poorly understood. The authors call for improved risk assessment methods and drinking water monitoring standards.

2021 UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Article Tier 2

Water: Impacts of plastic pollution on human health and biological systems

This literature review examined the impacts of plastic pollution on water quality and biological systems, documenting how mismanaged plastics contaminate water bodies and enter food chains, ultimately posing risks to human health through direct exposure and bioaccumulation.

2025 FLORONA Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Water Bodies and in the Environment

This review examines microplastics and nanoplastics as emerging pollutants of concern in water bodies and broader environments, synthesizing current knowledge on their sources, distribution, detection methods, and ecological and human health implications. It discusses the challenges of monitoring these contaminants across freshwater, marine, and terrestrial systems given the diversity of particle types, sizes, and polymer compositions involved.

2022 Water 8 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

Ubiquity of Microplastics in Drinking Water: An Update on Its Assessment and Impact

This review documents the widespread presence of microplastics in drinking water worldwide — including both tap and bottled water — and examines the potential health impacts of ingesting these particles. Current evidence shows microplastics are present in essentially all drinking water supplies at levels that cause concern, though the long-term health effects remain under investigation. The review calls for improved water treatment and reduced plastic use as parallel strategies to address the problem.

2021 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in water: diagnosis and human health risk analysis

This systematic review summarizes existing research on microplastic contamination in drinking water and assesses the potential risks to human health. The findings confirm that microplastics are present in water intended for consumption, and while the exact health effects are still being studied, the evidence suggests we should take precautions to reduce our exposure.

2023 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
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