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Microplastics and the Environment: A Review

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Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (ICC IDEA 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 398))

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Abstract

Microplastics are a large class of contaminants comprising a sophisticated combination of chemicals and polymers prevalent in water and sediment. Numerous aquatic environments, including microplastics have been established as critical environmental contaminants in all matrices. Although microplastic pollution is widespread in the soil, rivers, and atmosphere, these ecosystems are frequently regarded as distinct entities. Consequences of environmental microplastics engaging with biotic and abiotic elements include absorption, settling, biofouling, degradation, disintegration, and entry into the food web with a subsequent transfer throughout the food supply chain. As plastic items are used often and poorly managed, microplastics are released into the environment and are known to carry heavy metals. Absorption of heavy metal microplastics may transport toxic metals across the food web and cause ecological stress due to this large fraction of overall pollution. Toxic metals sorption on microplastics is an impulsive reaction driven by the microplastic surface. The coexistence of MPs and heavy metals poses a threat to the viability of organisms. It has recently been identified as a rising and continuing environmental calamity on a variety of substrates across the world. It is crucial to link the origin and interaction of microplastics in water and sediment with metal pollutants, focusing on toxicities and accumulation and their detrimental effects on organisms and ecosystems, to better comprehend and minimize the potential uncertainties of microplastics.

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Acknowledgements

Augustine Crispin thanks the Management and Dean (CET), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, and the SRMIST Directorate of Research for their financial support in the form of a Doctoral Research Fellowship. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the SRM Institute of Science and Technology for their facilities and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India

    Augustine Crispin & Purushothaman Parthasarathy

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  1. Augustine Crispin
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  2. Purushothaman Parthasarathy
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Correspondence to Purushothaman Parthasarathy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois, Chicago, USA

    Krishna R. Reddy

  2. SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, India

    P. T. Ravichandran

  3. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India

    R. Ayothiraman

  4. Director, Geostructurals Pvt. Ltd, Cochin, Kerala, India

    Anil Joseph

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Crispin, A., Parthasarathy, P. (2024). Microplastics and the Environment: A Review. In: Reddy, K.R., Ravichandran, P.T., Ayothiraman, R., Joseph, A. (eds) Recent Advances in Civil Engineering. ICC IDEA 2023. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 398. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6229-7_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6229-7_19

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