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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Risk assessment of microplastics in freshwater sediments guided by strict quality criteria and data alignment methods
ClearRisk assessment of microplastics in freshwater sediments guided by strict quality criteria and data alignment methods
Researchers conducted a risk assessment of microplastics in freshwater sediments worldwide using strict quality criteria and standardized data alignment methods. The study found that while risks from microplastics to bottom-dwelling organisms cannot be excluded at current environmental concentrations, exposure levels were generally near or below the threshold hazardous concentrations calculated for 5% of species.
Assessment of potential ecological risk for microplastic particles
Researchers developed a framework for assessing the ecological risk of microplastic particles, incorporating particle characteristics, environmental concentrations, and species sensitivity data. The assessment identified conditions under which current environmental microplastic levels pose significant risk to aquatic organisms.
Current and potential risks of microplastics in global surface waters
Researchers assessed the current and projected risk of floating microplastics in marine and freshwater ecosystems globally by comparing field occurrence concentrations to ecotoxicity thresholds using probability distributions that account for size mismatches between sampling and toxicity studies. Results estimated that 37% of marine environments already exceed conservative risk thresholds protective of 95% of species, with this fraction projected to rise to 47.4% by 2040 under a business-as-usual scenario.
Assessment of potential ecological risk for microplastic particles
Researchers applied an ecological risk assessment framework to evaluate the hazard posed by microplastic particles across multiple environmental compartments, using species sensitivity distributions and environmental concentration data. The assessment highlighted specific particle types and size ranges that present the greatest ecological risk.
Microplastics could be marginally more hazardous than natural suspended solids – A meta-analysis
Species sensitivity distributions constructed from harmonized toxicity data suggest microplastics may be marginally more hazardous to aquatic organisms than natural suspended sediments, though high uncertainty prevents definitive conclusions. The lack of comparable experimental studies and dose-dependent data was a major limitation.
Toward an ecotoxicological risk assessment of microplastics: Comparison of available hazard and exposure data in freshwaters
Researchers compiled available exposure and toxicity data to perform the first probabilistic risk assessment of microplastics specifically in freshwater environments. The study found that while current concentrations in most freshwaters may not yet pose widespread ecological risk, localized hotspots could exceed harmful thresholds, highlighting the need for more standardized freshwater monitoring.
Understanding hazardous concentrations of microplastics in fresh water using non-traditional toxicity data
Researchers developed hazard concentration thresholds for microplastics in freshwater using non-traditional toxicity data, accounting for environmentally relevant sizes, shapes, and polymer types to provide more realistic governance standards.
A probabilistic risk framework for microplastics integrating uncertainty across toxicological and environmental variability: Development and application to marine and freshwater ecosystems
Researchers developed a new probabilistic risk assessment framework for microplastics that accounts for uncertainty in how laboratory toxicity data translates to real environmental conditions. Using Monte Carlo simulation and an enhanced species sensitivity distribution model, they found that uncertainty from particle-trait alignments can drive threshold variability by up to two orders of magnitude. The framework highlights that current risk assessments may underestimate hazards and identifies key research needs for improving microplastic environmental safety thresholds.
Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: probabilistic environmental risk assessment and current knowledge in occurrence and ecotoxicological studies
Researchers conducted a comprehensive review of microplastic occurrence in freshwater ecosystems and performed the first probabilistic environmental risk assessment for specific polymer types. They established predicted no-effect concentration values for polystyrene and polyethylene and calculated risk quotients suggesting that current microplastic levels in most freshwater environments pose a low ecological risk.
Study on water quality criteria and ecological risk assessment of microplastics in China’s surface waters
Researchers derived water quality criteria for microplastics in Chinese surface waters using species sensitivity distribution analysis across aquatic toxicity data. The resulting criteria values provide regulatory benchmarks for protecting aquatic organisms from microplastic contamination in freshwater and marine environments.
Meta-analysis of the hazards of microplastics in freshwaters using species sensitivity distributions
This meta-analysis built species sensitivity distributions for microplastics in freshwater and found that predicted no-effect concentrations for pristine microplastics were lower than for weathered ones, suggesting lab studies with new plastics may overestimate real-world hazards. The research highlights that most ecotoxicological studies use pristine microplastics at concentrations far exceeding environmental levels, complicating ecological risk assessment.
Quality Criteria for the Analysis of Microplastic in Biota Samples: A Critical Review
Ten quality criteria were applied to review recent microplastic ingestion studies in aquatic biota, finding wide variation in methodological rigor including inadequate sample sizes, poor contamination controls, and inconsistent polymer identification methods. The authors propose a standardized quality assessment framework to improve comparability of microplastic ingestion data across studies.
Microplastics in aquatic systems: A review of occurrence, monitoring and potential environmental risks
Researchers review the presence of microplastics — tiny plastic fragments less than 5 mm — across freshwater and marine environments worldwide, finding that polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene are the most commonly detected types. Exposure disrupts feeding, movement, and reproduction in aquatic wildlife, and the authors call for standardized measurement methods and legal limits to protect ecosystems.
Risk-based management framework for microplastics in aquatic ecosystems
This meta-analysis pooled data from 21 toxicity studies to create a risk management framework for microplastics in water. The researchers identified specific concentration thresholds where microplastics begin to harm aquatic life — either by diluting their food supply or by particles entering their tissues. This framework could help regulators set pollution limits to protect ecosystems and, ultimately, human food sources.
Development of “Threshold Microplastics Concentration” Concept and Framework in Drinking Water
This study proposed the concept of a threshold microplastic concentration below which adverse ecological effects are unlikely, aiming to provide a regulatory reference point for environmental risk management. The authors reviewed ecotoxicological data across taxa to derive effect thresholds and identify key uncertainties.
A Meta-analysis of Ecotoxicological Hazard Data for Nanoplastics in Marine and Freshwater Systems
This meta-analysis assessed the environmental hazard of nanoplastics (extremely tiny plastic particles) in freshwater and marine systems. By building species sensitivity distributions from available toxicity data, it found that nanoplastics can harm aquatic organisms at relatively low concentrations, highlighting the need for better environmental safety thresholds.
Assessment of potential ecological risk for microplastics in freshwater ecosystems
Researchers assessed the ecological risk of microplastics across freshwater ecosystems worldwide, including rivers and lakes in China, Vietnam, Europe, and South America. While one risk method showed negligible danger, more comprehensive assessment approaches revealed extreme ecological threats at every location studied, suggesting that microplastic pollution in freshwater may be more serious than previously thought.
Analyzing species sensitivity distribution of evidently edible microplastics for freshwater biota
Researchers developed a new framework for assessing the ecological risks of microplastics to freshwater organisms by focusing on species that are known to actually ingest them. The study found that current risk assessment methods may underestimate the danger to freshwater ecosystems and that species known to eat microplastics showed different sensitivity patterns than the broader population of test organisms.
Data driven methods to increase the reliability of microplastics hazard assessment
Researchers applied statistical data-driven methods to improve the reliability of microplastic hazard assessments derived from a growing but inconsistent body of ecotoxicology literature. The analysis identified key study characteristics that explain variability in reported effect sizes.
Global distribution characteristics and ecological risk assessment of microplastics in aquatic organisms based on meta-analysis
This meta-analysis assessed the global distribution of microplastics in aquatic organisms across multiple trophic levels, finding that biological characteristics like body size and feeding strategy significantly influence microplastic ingestion rates. The study provides a framework for ecological risk assessment and proposes strategies to reduce microplastic input into water bodies.
Microplastics in ecosystems: Critical review of occurrence, distribution, toxicity, fate, transport, and advances in experimental and computational studies in surface and subsurface water
This review provides a broad overview of microplastic contamination across freshwater, marine, and land environments, finding concentrations ranging from negligible to hundreds of thousands of particles per kilogram of sediment. The most common types are polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, and PET, spread by wastewater discharge, stormwater runoff, and poor waste management. The wide variability in contamination levels makes it difficult to assess overall risk to ecosystems and human health.
A systematic study of the microplastic burden in freshwater fishes of south-western Germany - Are we searching at the right scale?
A comprehensive survey of 1,167 freshwater fish from 22 species across 11 rivers and 6 lakes in southwestern Germany found an apparent microplastic prevalence of 18.8%, but particle size analysis revealed that over 95% of particles were likely smaller than the 40 μm detection limit, suggesting true prevalence may reach 100% with an average of ~23 particles per fish. The findings challenge the validity of most existing microplastic surveys in fish, which miss the smallest and most abundant fraction.
Freshwater wild biota exposure to microplastics: A global perspective
This global review synthesized field evidence on microplastic exposure in freshwater organisms across many taxa and regions, finding that exposure in nature is widespread but that concentrations used in most laboratory toxicity studies are orders of magnitude higher than field measurements.
Estimating species sensitivity distributions for microplastics by quantitatively considering particle characteristics using a recently created ecotoxicity database
Researchers estimated species sensitivity distributions for microplastics using Bayesian modeling that accounts for particle characteristics such as size, shape, and polymer type. The study suggests that quantitatively considering these microplastic properties yields more accurate environmental risk assessments than traditional approaches that treat all microplastics as equivalent.