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Remediation
16,198 resultsMicroplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Methods Used for Identification and Quantification
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This review covered the methods used to identify and characterize microplastics in marine environmental samples, evaluating the strengths and limitations of visual, spectroscopic, and chemical approaches for field and laboratory analysis.
Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity
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This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in freshwater environments, covering sources, distribution, and ecological impacts in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Researchers found that freshwater microplastic contamination is widespread globally but that standardized sampling and analysis methods are still lacking. The study calls for more consistent research approaches so that contamination levels across different water bodies can be meaningfully compared.
Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport
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This review examined the aggregation, deposition, and transport of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, synthesizing how particle properties and water chemistry govern their fate and mobility in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.)
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Researchers discovered that microplastic particles ingested by mussels can move from the gut into the circulatory system within three days and persist in the body for over 48 days. Smaller particles accumulated more readily than larger ones, suggesting that as plastic debris breaks down into ever-smaller fragments in the environment, the potential for it to build up inside living organisms increases.
Waste Mismanagement in Developing Countries: A Review of Global Issues
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This narrative review examines the global environmental and social consequences of solid waste mismanagement in developing countries, documenting how open dumping and burning drive marine litter, air and soil contamination, and serious health risks for informal waste pickers, while calling for integrated waste collection and treatment systems to address these interconnected crises.
Uptake and Accumulation of Polystyrene Microplastics in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Toxic Effects in Liver
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene microplastics of two different sizes and tracked where the particles accumulated in the body. They found that smaller particles (5 micrometers) built up in the gills, liver, and gut, while larger particles (20 micrometers) mainly stayed in the gills and gut. The microplastics caused liver inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted fat metabolism, suggesting that ingested microplastics can damage internal organs in fish.
Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) as a Source of Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment
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Researchers investigated wastewater treatment works as a source of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that effluent discharges contribute measurable quantities of microplastics to receiving rivers despite treatment, with concentrations varying by treatment type.
Pathways for degradation of plastic polymers floating in the marine environment
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This review examined the pathways and mechanisms by which plastic polymers degrade in the marine environment, covering photodegradation, mechanical fragmentation, and biodegradation and estimating the timescales involved.
Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Detection, occurrence and removal
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Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect the marine microalga Chaetoceros neogracile and found that exposure reduced growth and photosynthetic activity. The nanoplastics physically attached to the algal cells and triggered oxidative stress, suggesting they can interfere with the base of the marine food web. The study raises concerns that nanoplastic pollution could have cascading effects on ocean ecosystems by harming the tiny organisms that produce much of the world's oxygen.
Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrence and effects
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This review covered the sources, occurrence, and ecological effects of plastic waste in the marine environment, synthesizing evidence on how plastic pollution enters the ocean, where it accumulates, and what harm it causes to marine life.
Transport and fate of microplastic particles in wastewater treatment plants
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Researchers tracked microplastic particles through multiple stages of a wastewater treatment plant, finding that particles were concentrated in sludge but that a fraction passed through each treatment stage and remained in the final effluent.
Are Agricultural Soils Dumps for Microplastics of Urban Origin?
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Researchers investigated whether agricultural soils serve as dumping grounds for urban-origin microplastics, finding evidence that sewage sludge application and atmospheric deposition deliver city-sourced plastics to farmland.
Uptake and Effects of Microplastics on Cells and Tissue of the Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis L. after an Experimental Exposure
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Researchers exposed blue mussels to high-density polyethylene microplastics and found the particles were drawn into the gills and digestive system within just three hours. The microplastics triggered a strong inflammatory response and damaged cell membranes, providing direct evidence that microplastics can enter animal cells and cause significant tissue-level harm.
Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?
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This study examined plastic mulch use in agriculture, arguing that short-term crop benefits come with long-term costs as mulch fragments accumulate in soil as microplastics and disrupt soil structure, biology, and water dynamics.
Solutions to microplastic pollution – Removal of microplastics from wastewater effluent with advanced wastewater treatment technologies
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This study reviewed solutions for removing microplastics from wastewater effluents, comparing physical, chemical, and biological treatment approaches and identifying the most promising technologies for preventing microplastic discharge into receiving waters.
Microplastic is an Abundant and Distinct Microbial Habitat in an Urban River
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Researchers demonstrated that microplastic surfaces in an urban river host a microbial community that is distinct from surrounding water and sediment communities, establishing microplastic as an abundant and ecologically distinct habitat for river microorganisms.
Identification of microplastic in effluents of waste water treatment plants using focal plane array-based micro-Fourier-transform infrared imaging
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Researchers analyzed effluent from 12 wastewater treatment plants in Germany and found microplastics in all of them, with estimates of up to 4 billion particles discharged per plant annually — predominantly polyethylene fragments and polyester fibers. Notably, one plant with an additional post-filtration step reduced microplastic discharge by 97%, showing that advanced filtration can dramatically cut the flow of plastic particles into waterways.
Understanding plastic degradation and microplastic formation in the environment: A review
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This review covers how plastics break down in the environment through sunlight, heat, water, and microbial action to form microplastics smaller than 5 millimeters. The process depends on both the type of plastic and environmental conditions, but knowledge about real-world degradation rates and pathways is still limited. Understanding how microplastics form is essential for predicting where they accumulate and how they might enter the food chain and drinking water.
Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge disposal
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Agricultural soils from 31 fields with different sludge application histories were analyzed for microplastics, finding significant accumulation in fields with repeated sludge applications and a positive correlation between application frequency and plastic particle counts. The study provides direct field evidence that sewage sludge fertilization is a major pathway for microplastic accumulation in agricultural soil.
Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment
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Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.
Wastewater treatment plants as a pathway for microplastics: Development of a new approach to sample wastewater-based microplastics
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Researchers developed a new sampling and monitoring protocol for microplastics at wastewater treatment plants, enabling more consistent tracking of microplastic loads through treatment stages and discharged effluent.
Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics
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This study examined the adsorption of antibiotics onto different microplastic types, finding that sorption capacity depended on both the antibiotic's chemical properties and the plastic's surface characteristics, with implications for antibiotic transport in aquatic environments.
Occurrence, identification and removal of microplastic particles and fibers in conventional activated sludge process and advanced MBR technology
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This study examined the occurrence, identification, and removal of microplastic particles and fibers in conventional drinking water treatment plants, finding that while treatment substantially reduced microplastic levels, complete removal was not achieved.
A Global Perspective on Microplastics
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This review provides a global overview of microplastic pollution, tracing its origins from land-based disposal, textile washing, tire wear, and at-sea losses to its distribution across ocean compartments. Researchers note that microplastic abundance increases as particle size decreases, expanding the range of organisms that can ingest them, with particles smaller than 20 micrometers potentially able to penetrate cell membranes. The study highlights that while evidence of harm is growing, more research is needed to draw definitive conclusions about health risks to humans and wildlife.