Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Which\nMicropollutants in Water Environments Deserve\nMore Attention Globally?

This review analyzed which organic micropollutants in water environments deserve the most global attention based on their toxicity, occurrence frequency, and persistence. Microplastics are among the contaminants considered, alongside pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that routinely escape conventional water treatment and accumulate in aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Which Micropollutants in Water Environments Deserve More Attention Globally?

This review analyzed over 80 studies to determine which chemical micropollutants in water deserve the most attention for cleanup efforts worldwide. Using risk-based methods, researchers identified hundreds of compounds from pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that pose risks to aquatic life and human health. While not focused on microplastics directly, the findings are relevant because microplastics can absorb and concentrate many of these same chemicals, potentially increasing human exposure through contaminated water.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 502 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Fate of Emerging Organic Micro-Contaminants

This review covers the sources, fate, and toxicity of pharmaceuticals and other organic micropollutants in natural and built environments. It examines how these contaminants, which often co-occur with microplastics, persist in water systems and affect aquatic organisms.

2019
Article Tier 2

Emerging Contaminants in Water: Detection, Treatment, and Regulation

This review covers emerging contaminants in water — including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals — discussing detection methods, treatment technologies, and regulatory frameworks. The authors highlight major gaps in current water quality standards and the need for updated regulations to address these newer pollutants.

2021 Water 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro (nano) plastics in wastewater: A critical review on toxicity risk assessment, behaviour, environmental impact and challenges

Researchers reviewed the sources, detection methods, toxicity, environmental fate, and wastewater treatment options for micro- and nanoplastics, finding that nanoplastics are especially persistent and toxic due to their large surface area and ability to carry co-pollutants, and identifying key research gaps in quantification, degradation mechanisms, and sensor development.

2021 Chemosphere 103 citations
Article Tier 2

Updated review on microplastics in water, their occurrence, detection, measurement, environmental pollution, and the need for regulatory standards

This review examines microplastic occurrence, detection methods, and measurement techniques in aquatic environments, highlighting the urgent need for explicit regulatory frameworks to address the growing threat of microplastic pollution in water systems.

2021 Environmental Pollution 130 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutically active micropollutants: origin, hazards and removal

This review summarizes existing research on pharmaceutical pollutants -- such as antibiotics, painkillers, and hormones -- found in water systems around the world. While focused on drug contamination, the paper notes that microplastics can act as carriers for these pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially concentrating them and increasing human exposure through drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods are often unable to fully remove these micropollutants.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: A critical overview on its fate, toxicity, implications, management, and bioremediation strategies

This review provides a broad overview of microplastic pollution, covering how these particles enter freshwater systems, accumulate in organisms, and carry toxic chemicals through the food chain. With approximately 360 million tons of plastic produced globally each year and only 7% recycled, microplastics have become a pervasive threat to water quality and, by extension, human health.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 252 citations
Article Tier 2

Introduction—Emerging Pollutants in Water: Threats, Challenges, and Research Needs

This review examines contaminants of emerging concern in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting compounds, that are not adequately addressed by current water treatment and regulation. These pollutants enter water through wastewater, industrial discharge, and agricultural runoff and persist in the environment. The authors call for better monitoring and innovative treatment strategies to protect human health and water resources.

2025 Advances in water security 5 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Micro(nano)plastics as a vector of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystem: Historical review and future trends

This systematic review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in water can absorb and carry pharmaceutical drugs, creating a combined pollution threat. When medications attach to tiny plastic particles in rivers and oceans, they may become more harmful to aquatic life and potentially to humans who consume contaminated seafood or water. The research traces how this emerging double-threat has grown since 2018 and identifies key knowledge gaps.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent occurrence of microplastics in freshwater and efficiency of available treatment technologies

Researchers reviewed six years of global data on microplastics in freshwater systems, finding them in rivers, lakes, and groundwater across five continents, with conventional water treatment removing 85–95% of larger particles but struggling with smaller fragments. The review also found that nanoplastics may be 10–100 times more common than microplastics yet remain nearly impossible to detect with current technology.

2025 Next research. 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

Environmental Impact of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions

This review examines microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering chemical, biological, and ecological processes beyond simple physical contamination and identifying priority areas for future research directions.

2025 Indus journal of bioscience research.
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in water resources: Global pollution circle, possible technological solutions, legislations, and future horizon

This review summarizes the global scope of microplastic contamination in water and sediment, finding levels that vary enormously -- from near zero to thousands of particles per sample. Microplastics absorb other pollutants from their surroundings, potentially concentrating harmful chemicals, and they infiltrate food chains from the smallest organisms upward. The authors call for stronger legislation and a combination of technological innovation, recycling, and public awareness to address this widespread threat to ecosystems and human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, fate and transformation of emerging contaminants in water: An overarching review of the field

This overview reviewed the occurrence, fate, and transformation of emerging contaminants — including microplastics and chemical pollutants — in water, summarizing what is known about their behavior from entry to breakdown in aquatic systems.

2017 Environmental Pollution 723 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics a Hidden Threat in our Food and Water Supply

Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — enter ecosystems through runoff, wastewater, and air, and accumulate in both aquatic and land organisms, threatening biodiversity and human health through the food chain. The review also highlights monitoring technologies and the importance of strong governance to address this growing global contamination problem.

2025
Review Tier 2

Microplastics as contaminants in freshwater environments: A multidisciplinary review

This multidisciplinary review covers microplastic sources, abundance, composition, transport, and biological effects in freshwater systems globally, arguing that freshwater environments are both major conduits and sinks for microplastic pollution.

2020 Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 85 citations
Review Tier 2

A Review of Global Occurrence of Emerging Pollutants in Wastewater: Present Status, Source/Pathway, Extraction and Detection Techniques

This review surveyed global occurrence data for emerging pollutants — including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and PFAS — in wastewater from 1998 to 2021, examining detection methods and contamination levels. The review highlights that many of these compounds are inadequately regulated and poorly removed by conventional wastewater treatment, allowing them to persist in water systems.

2023 Asian Journal of Current Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Surface Waters: A Critical Review of Emerging Challenges and Future Perspectives

This review examines microplastic contamination across aquatic environments, covering detection technologies, ecological risks from ingestion by wildlife and transfer through food webs, and how microplastics serve as vectors for pesticides, heavy metals, and chemical pollutants.

2025 Environmental Quality Management
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in water and wastewater: occurrence, toxicity, analytical approach, and remediation

This comprehensive review analyzed microplastic occurrence and toxicity in water and wastewater across studies from all continents, finding polyethylene and polypropylene as the most common polymer types and reviewing detection, quantification, and remediation methods.

2025 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic environments: Occurrence, accumulation, and biological effects

This review compiled evidence on microplastic occurrence, accumulation, and biological effects in global aquatic environments, covering uptake by organisms across trophic levels and the role of microplastics as vectors for persistent organic pollutants. The authors highlight concentration-dependent toxicity and the need for ecologically relevant exposure scenarios in laboratory studies.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 810 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic systems, a comprehensive review: origination, accumulation, impact, and removal technologies

This comprehensive review traced the sources of microplastics in aquatic environments, from industrial products and packaging to cosmetics and agricultural materials, and examined their toxic effects on living organisms. Researchers found that microplastics are remarkably stable and widespread, posing growing ecotoxicological risks to aquatic ecosystems. The study also evaluated current removal technologies, noting their advantages and limitations, and warns that without better strategies, microplastic pollution will become significantly worse in coming decades.

2022 RSC Advances 134 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution Focused on Sources, Distribution, Contaminant Interactions, Analytical Methods, and Wastewater Removal Strategies: A Review

This review examines microplastic pollution across all environmental compartments, covering sources, distribution, contaminant interactions, analytical methods, and wastewater removal strategies. Microplastics act as vectors for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, PCBs, and PAHs, and the review discusses both the analytical challenges of detection and available treatment options.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 74 citations