Microplastics in the aquatic and terrestrial environment: sources (with a specific focus on personal care products), fate and effects

By K. Duis, A. Coors. Environmental Sciences Europe, 2016

1,437 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Due to the widespread use and durability of synthetic polymers, plastic debris occurs in the environment worldwide. In the present work, information on sources and fate of microplastic particles in the aquatic and terrestrial environment, and on their uptake and effects, mainly in aquatic organisms, is reviewed. Microplastics in the environment originate from a variety of sources. Quantitative information on the relevance of these sources is generally lacking, but first estimates indicate that abrasion and fragmentation of larger plastic items and materials containing synthetic polymers are likely to be most relevant. Microplastics are ingested and, mostly, excreted rapidly by numerous aquatic organisms. So far, there is no clear evidence of bioaccumulation or biomagnification. In laboratory studies, the ingestion of large amounts of microplastics mainly led to a lower food uptake and, consequently, reduced energy reserves and effects on other physiological functions. Based on the evaluated data, the lowest microplastic concentrations affecting marine organisms exposed via water are much higher than levels measured in marine water. In lugworms exposed via sediment, effects were observed at microplastic levels that were higher than those in subtidal sediments but in the same range as maximum levels in beach sediments. Hydrophobic contaminants are enriched on microplastics, but the available experimental results and modelling approaches indicate that the transfer of sorbed pollutants by microplastics is not likely to contribute significantly to bioaccumulation of these pollutants. Prior to being able to comprehensively assess possible environmental risks caused by microplastics a number of knowledge gaps need to be filled. However, in view of the persistence of microplastics in the environment, the high concentrations measured at some environmental sites and the prospective of strongly increasing concentrations, the release of plastics into the environment should be reduced in a broad and global effort regardless of a proof of an environmental risk.

Subfields: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pollution

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1caf462373ddd9bb41bb75ea97fb92e66cfa6d75

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In Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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Citations in the corpus

Macro- and micro- plastics in soil-plant system: Effects of plastic mulch film residues on wheat (Triticum aestivum) growth. (2018, background): “, 2016b; Rillig, 2012; Zubris and Richards, 2005), most of the research done so far has been focused on microplastics in the aquatic ecosystem (Auta et al., 2017; Cole et al., 2011; Duis and Coors, 2016; Eerkes-Medrano et al., 2015; Koelmans et al., 2014; Koelmans et al., 2017; Nizzetto et al., 2016”
Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) - A review of generation, properties, emissions, human health risk, ecotoxicity, and fate in the environment. (2020, methodology): “tyre-core particles. This definitionmay include the incorporation of particles deposited on the road from other sources besides tyres and road surface. In the present article, we use the term TRWP for heterogeneous particles consisting of abraded tyre and road material according to Panko et al. (201”
Direct and indirect effects of microplastics on bivalves, with a focus on edible species: A mini-review (2019, background): “Microplastics reach the oceans via beach littering, road runoff, sewage and illegal dumping activities (Duis & Coors, 2016; Habib, Locke, & Cannone, 1998; Jayasiri, Purushothaman, & Vennila, 2013).”
Marine litter plastics and microplastics and their toxic chemicals components: the need for urgent preventive measures (2018, background): “; from plastic pellets lost into the environment during production or freight process; or from textile fibres coming from washing machine runoff4 [3, 11].”
Secondary Microplastics Generation in the Sea Swash Zone With Coarse Bottom Sediments: Laboratory Experiments (2018, neutral): “Foamed PS spherules are also mentioned in many studies dedicated to beach MPs (e.g., Claessens et al., 2011; Duis and Coors, 2016; Esiukova, 2017).”