Microplastic contamination refers to the presence and distribution of synthetic polymer particles typically <5 mm in environmental matrices, including marine, freshwater, terrestrial, atmospheric, and biological systems. As a research topic, it encompasses sources (primary and secondary microplastics), transport pathways (e.g., hydrodynamic and atmospheric dispersion), physicochemical properties (size, shape, polymer type, surface chemistry), and interactions with co-contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and metals. Studies investigate bioavailability, trophic transfer, organismal and cellular responses, and potential human exposure via inhalation and ingestion, as well as methodological challenges in sampling, analytical detection, quantification, and risk assessment frameworks.
Representatives at the recent United Nations conference in Geneva have once again failed to negotiate a binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. The Switzerland gathering was the sixth round of talks in less than ...
Environment
Aug 18, 2025
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The "Paris agreement for plastic" was set to be finalized at the end of this week.
Environment
Aug 16, 2025
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Talks aimed at striking a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution fell apart Friday without agreement, as countries failed to find consensus on how the world should tackle the ever-growing scourge.
Environment
Aug 15, 2025
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Negotiators from around the world are gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the final UN intergovernmental session to hammer out a legally binding global treaty on plastics pollution.
Environment
Aug 13, 2025
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Kulsum Beghum sorts waste at a landfill in Dhaka. Her blood contains 650 microplastic particles per milliliter, according to an analysis funded by a waste pickers' union.
Environment
Aug 13, 2025
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Collecting and analyzing the amount of toxic micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in water is comparatively easy: Fill a bucket from your source, evaporate the water, and count and characterize the plastics that are left behind. ...
Environment
Aug 12, 2025
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Indigenous communities from North America are at talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, pleading the case for the environment they depend upon, which is slowly being choked by microplastics.
Environment
Aug 10, 2025
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Negotiations on a global treaty on plastic pollution are being blocked by oil-producing countries and getting bogged down in a "dialogue of the deaf," sources at the talks told AFP on Thursday.
Environment
Aug 7, 2025
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Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are studying microplastics and nanoplastics to determine how they form in the environment—and how to reduce or even prevent their formation.
Environment
Aug 6, 2025
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Countries were to start the clock Tuesday on 10 days of talks aimed at hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution.
Environment
Aug 5, 2025
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