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Policy & Risk
19,660 resultsGlobal 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.
Birds as Bioindicators: Revealing the Widespread Impact of Microplastics
This systematic review found microplastics in over 200 bird species across the globe, from Antarctica to South Europe. Birds can suffer gut damage, oxidative stress, and toxic chemical buildup from ingesting plastics — a warning sign for broader ecosystem and food chain contamination that could affect humans too.
Machine Learning Advancements and Strategies in Microplastic and Nanoplastic Detection
This systematic review looks at how machine learning is improving our ability to detect tiny microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment. Better detection methods matter because accurately measuring plastic contamination is the first step toward understanding — and reducing — human exposure.
A systematic review of industrial wastewater management: Evaluating challenges and enablers
This systematic review of 66 studies on industrial wastewater management found that while treatment technologies are advancing, major challenges remain in regulation enforcement, cost-effectiveness, and integration of circular economy principles. The research highlights that inadequate industrial wastewater treatment is a significant source of environmental pollutants, including microplastics, entering waterways.
Global occurrence characteristics, drivers, and environmental risk assessment of microplastics in lakes: A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis of 42 studies found significant heterogeneity in microplastic pollution levels across global lakes, driven by geographical location and sampling methods. Small microplastics (under 1 mm) were disproportionately concentrated in sediment compared to water, and while most lakes showed low overall environmental risk, pollution levels in lake sediments were generally higher than in surrounding water.
Systematic review of microplastics and nanoplastics in indoor and outdoor air: identifying a framework and data needs for quantifying human inhalation exposures
This systematic review is the first to examine microplastic levels in both indoor and outdoor air and estimate how much people inhale. The findings suggest we are breathing in microplastic particles daily, with indoor air often containing higher concentrations due to synthetic textiles and household materials.
A Systematic Review on Microplastic Contamination in Fishes of Asia: Polymeric Risk Assessment and Future Prospectives
This systematic review found widespread microplastic contamination in freshwater and saltwater fish across Asia, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the most common plastic types. Since fish is a major protein source for billions of people, this contamination represents a direct pathway for microplastics to enter the human diet.
An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses Evaluating Associations between Human Health and Exposure to Major Classes of Plastic-Associated Chemicals
This umbrella review — a review of existing meta-analyses — assessed the health effects of chemicals found in plastics, including BPA, phthalates, and PFAS. The evidence links these plastic-associated chemicals to hormonal disruption, reproductive problems, metabolic issues, and increased cancer risk across many studies.
Microplastic pollution in groundwater: a systematic review
This systematic review reveals that microplastics have been found in groundwater sources worldwide, raising concerns about drinking water safety. Detection methods and reported contamination levels vary widely, highlighting the need for standardized testing to fully understand the scope of the problem.
Microplastics may increase the environmental risks of Cd via promoting Cd uptake by plants: A meta-analysis
This meta-analysis found that microplastics in soil can increase how much cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) plants absorb. This is concerning because it means microplastic pollution could make our food crops more contaminated with heavy metals, adding another health risk on top of the plastics themselves.
Microplastics comprehensive review: Impact on honey bee, occurrence in honey and health risk evaluation
This systematic review examines how microplastics contaminate honey through bees and their environment. The findings show that bees accumulate microplastics from polluted air, water, and soil, which can then end up in honey — a product many people consume for its health benefits.
Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems: sources, transport, fate, mitigation, and remediation strategies
This review examines how microplastics from urban, agricultural, and industrial sources are building up in soils worldwide. Wind, water, and soil organisms transport these particles across landscapes, where they persist and can affect soil structure and the health of living things. The authors highlight that land-based microplastic pollution has received far less attention than ocean pollution, despite its potential risks to ecosystems and human health through the food chain.
A systematic review of biomonitoring microplastics in environmental matrices: Emphasis on airborne particles, dry deposits, and comparative analysis with traditional methods
This systematic review examines methods for monitoring microplastics in the air, including airborne particles and deposits. Researchers have found microplastics everywhere from city streets to clouds, underscoring the extent of airborne plastic pollution that people breathe in every day.
Assessing the Impact of Nanoplastics in Biological Systems: Systematic Review of In Vitro Animal Studies
This systematic review of lab studies found that nanoplastics can damage cells in the gut, lungs, liver, brain, and reproductive organs of animals. These ultra-small plastic particles appear capable of crossing biological barriers and causing inflammation and oxidative stress, raising concerns about similar effects in humans.
Microplastics in Our Waters: Insights from a Configurative Systematic Review of Water Bodies and Drinking Water Sources
This systematic review mapped microplastic contamination across rivers, lakes, seas, tap water, and bottled water worldwide. The findings show that microplastics are present in virtually every water source we rely on, with rivers being the most studied and polyethylene being the most commonly found plastic type.
Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities
Researchers discovered that microplastics in the bloodstream can cause blood clots in the brain by getting swallowed by immune cells that then block tiny blood vessels. These blockages reduced blood flow and caused neurological problems in mice. This reveals a new way microplastics may harm the brain, not by crossing into brain tissue directly, but by disrupting blood circulation.
Nanoplastics and Immune Disruption: A Systematic Review of Exposure Routes, Mechanisms, and Health Implications
This systematic review found that nanoplastics — extremely tiny plastic particles — can cross biological barriers and disrupt immune function in laboratory studies. The evidence suggests these particles may trigger inflammation and could potentially contribute to autoimmune conditions, though human studies are still limited.
Challenges in safe environmental applications of biochar: identifying risks and unintended consequence
This review examines the overlooked risks of biochar, a charcoal-like material often added to soil for environmental benefits. When biochar breaks down, it can release pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and other harmful chemicals into the environment. The authors stress that the environmental and health risks of biochar need careful evaluation before it is widely used in agriculture and land management.
Risk Assessment of Microplastics in Humans: Distribution, Exposure, and Toxicological Effects
This meta-analysis tracked the rapid growth of research on microplastics and human health, finding a shift from studying environmental pollution toward understanding direct human exposure and health effects. Emerging concerns include reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and immune system disruption from microplastic exposure.
The distribution of subsurface microplastics in the ocean
This study combined data from nearly 2,000 ocean sampling stations to map how microplastics are distributed at different depths. Smaller microplastics spread more evenly through the water column, while larger ones tend to concentrate near the surface. At deep ocean depths, microplastics make up an increasing share of total organic particles, suggesting they are becoming a significant part of the deep ocean environment.
Systematic Review of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs): Distribution, Risks, and Implications for Water Quality and Health
This systematic review summarizes research on contaminants of emerging concern, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals found in water sources. The findings highlight that these pollutants pose real risks to both ecosystems and human health, and that current water treatment methods may not fully remove them.
Safe nanomaterials: from their use, application, and disposal to regulations
This review surveys the global applications of nanomaterials across medicine, food, textiles, and electronics, along with the health and environmental risks they pose. It highlights that regulations governing nanomaterial safety vary widely between countries and calls for global standards based on a precautionary principle to ensure their responsible use and disposal.
Recent Advances in the Remediation of Textile-Dye-Containing Wastewater: Prioritizing Human Health and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
This review examines how the textile industry is a major source of wastewater containing harmful dyes and chemicals that threaten water quality and human health. It evaluates sustainable treatment approaches including bio-adsorbents, membrane technology, and advanced oxidation processes for cleaning textile wastewater and recovering useful materials.
Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy
Using a new high-speed imaging technique, researchers detected and identified nanoplastics in bottled water at the single-particle level, finding roughly 240,000 plastic particles per liter. This is far more than previously estimated and includes particles smaller than 100 nanometers made from common plastics, suggesting our exposure to nanoplastics from bottled water may be much higher than thought.