Abstract
Over the past decades, the plastic production has been dramatically increased. Indeed, a category of small plastic particles mainly with the shapes of fragments, fibers, or spheres, called microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) and nanoplastics (particles smaller than 1 µm) have attracted particular attention. Because of its wide distribution in the environment and potential adverse effects to animal and human, microplastic pollution has been reported as a serious environment problem receiving increased attention in recent years. As one of the commonly detected emerging contaminants in the environment, recent evidence indicates that the concentration of microplastics show an increasing trend, for the reason that up to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic litter is released into aquatic environment from land-based sources each year. Furthermore, microplastic exposure levels of model organisms in laboratory studies are usually several orders of magnitude higher than those found in environment, and the microplastics exposure conditions are also different with those observed in the environment. Additionally, the detection of microplastics in feces indicates that they can be excreted out of the bodies of animal and human. Hence, great uncertainties might exist in microplastics exposure and health risk assessment based on current studies, which might be exaggerated. Policies reduce microplastic emission sources and hence minimize their environmental risks are determined. To promote the above policies, we must first overcome the technical obstacles of detecting microplastics in various samples.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akhbarizadeh R, Moore F, Keshavarzi B (2018). Investigating a probable relationship between microplastics and potentially toxic elements in fish muscles from northeast of Persian Gulf. Environmental Pollution, 232: 154–163
Besseling E, Redondo-Hasselerharm P, Foekema E M, Koelmans A A (2019). Quantifying ecological risks of aquatic micro- and nanoplastic. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 49(1): 32–80
Cox K D, Covernton G A, Davies H L, Dower J F, Juanes F, Dudas S E (2019). Human consumption of microplastics. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(12): 7068–7074
Duan J, Bolan N, Li Y, Ding S, Atugoda T, Vithanage M, Sarkar B, Tsang D C W, Kirkham M B (2021). Weathering of microplastics and interaction with other coexisting constituents in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Water Research, 196: 117011
Evangeliou N, Grythe H, Klimont Z, Heyes C, Eckhardt S, Lopez-Aparicio S, Stohl A (2020). Atmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions. Nature Communications, 11(1): 3381
Hale R C (2018). Are the risks from microplastics truly trivial? Environmental Science & Technology, 52(3): 931
Huang D, Chen H, Shen M, Tao J, Chen S, Yin L, Zhou W, Wang X, Xiao R, Li R (2022). Recent advances on the transport of microplastics/nanoplastics in abiotic and biotic compartments. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 438: 129515
Khan S, Naushad M, Govarthanan M, Iqbal J, Alfadul S M (2022). Emerging contaminants of high concern for the environment: current trends and future research. Environmental Research, 207: 112609
Liu S, Shang E, Liu J, Wang Y, Bolan N, Kirklam M B, Li Y (2022). What have we known so far for fluorescence staining and quantification of microplastics: a tutorial review. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 16(1): 8
Lu L, Luo T, Zhao Y, Cai C, Fu Z, Jin Y (2019). Interaction between microplastics and microorganism as well as gut microbiota: a consideration on environmental animal and human health. Science of the Total Environment, 667: 94–100
Maher B A, Ahmed I A M, Karloukovski V, MacLaren D A, Foulds P G, Allsop D, Mann D M, Torres-Jardón R, Calderon-Garciduenas L (2016). Magnetite pollution nanoparticles in the human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(39): 10797–10801
Mohamed Nor N H, Kooi M, Diepens N J, Koelmans A A (2021). Lifetime accumulation of microplastic in children and adults. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(8): 5084–5096
Phuong N N, Zalouk-Vergnoux A, Poirier L, Kamari A, Châtel A, Mouneyrac C, Lagarde F (2016). Is there any consistency between the microplastics found in the field and those used in laboratory experiments? Environmental Pollution, 211: 111–123
Qu H, Ma R, Barrett H, Wang B, Han J, Wang F, Chen P, Wang W, Peng G, Yu G (2020). How microplastics affect chiral illicit drug methamphetamine in aquatic food chain? From green alga (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) to freshwater snail (Cipangopaludian cathayensis) Environment International, 136: 105480
Qu H, Ma R, Wang B, Yang J, Duan L, Yu G (2019). Enantiospecific toxicity, distribution and bioaccumulation of chiral antidepressant venlafaxine and its metabolite in loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) co-exposed to microplastic and the drugs. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 370: 203–211
Qu H, Ma R, Wang B, Zhang Y, Yin L, Yu G, Deng S, Huang J, Wang Y (2018). Effects of microplastics on the uptake, distribution and biotransformation of chiral antidepressant venlafaxine in aquatic ecosystem. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 359: 104–112
Rist S, Carney Almroth B, Hartmann N B, Karlsson T M (2018). A critical perspective on early communications concerning human health aspects of microplastics. Science of the Total Environment, 626: 720–726
SAPEA (2019). A scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society. Science Advice for Policy by European Academies. Berlin: Oceanrep Geomar
Treyer A, Pujato M, Pechuan X, Müsch A (2016). Iterative sorting of apical and basolateral cargo in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 27(14): 2259–2271
Wang X, Bolan N, Tsang D C W, Sarkar B, Bradney L, Li Y (2021). A review of microplastics aggregation in aquatic environment: influence factors, analytical methods, and environmental implications. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 402: 123496
Wang X, Li Y, Zhao J, Xia X, Shi X, Duan J, Zhang W (2020). UV-induced aggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics: effects of radicals, surface functional groups and electrolyte. Environmental Science. Nano, 7(12): 3914–3926
Wright S L, Kelly F J (2017). Plastic and human health: a micro issue? Environmental Science & Technology, 51(12): 6634–6647
Yang D, Shi H, Li L, Li J, Jabeen K, Kolandhasamy P (2015). Microplastic pollution in table salts from China. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(22): 13622–13627
Yong C Q Y, Valiyaveettil S, Tang B L (2020). Toxicity of microplastics and nanoplastics in mammalian systems. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5): 1509
Yuan J, Ma J, Sun Y, Zhou T, Zhao Y, Yu F (2020). Microbial degradation and other environmental aspects of microplastics/plastics. Science of the Total Environment, 715: 136968
Yuan W, Zhou Y, Liu X, Wang J (2019). New perspective on the nanoplastics disrupting the reproduction of an endangered fern in artificial freshwater. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(21): 12715–12724
Zhang J, Wang L, Leonardo T, Kurunthachalam K (2021). Occurrence of polyethylene terephthalate and polycarbonate microplastics in infant and adult feces. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 8(11): 989–994
Zhang S, Gao H, Bao G (2015). Physical principles of nanoparticle cellular endocytosis. ACS Nano, 9(9): 8655–8671
Zhang W, Wang Q, Chen H (2022). Challenges in characterization of nanoplastics in the environment. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 16(1): 11
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qu, H., Diao, H., Han, J. et al. Understanding and addressing the environmental risk of microplastics. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 17, 12 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1612-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1612-5