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.
When plastic waste enters waterways, it can endanger aquatic animals, damage habitats, and splinter into tiny pieces that may affect ecosystems for centuries to come.
Environment
Sep 11, 2025
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24
Critical wildlife habitats are exposed to pollution risk in the seas off the southern United States, with implications for human health and food security. "Most of the pollution comes from rivers and not from wastewater treatment ...
Environment
Sep 10, 2025
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38
The sun-drenched paradise of Thailand's Phi Phi islands isn't the usual starting point for a Ph.D. But for Sarah Sajedi, those soft, sandy beaches—or rather, what she found under them—inspired her pivot from a business career ...
Environment
Sep 9, 2025
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982
You brush twice daily, floss religiously and see your dentist every six months. But what if these acts of oral hygiene are quietly contributing to one of the planet's most pressing environmental crises?
Environment
Sep 9, 2025
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34
Plastic pollution is everywhere: in rivers and oceans, in the air and the mountains, even in our blood and vital organs. Most of the public attention has focused on the dangers of microplastics. These are fragments smaller ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 8, 2025
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23
A first-of-its-kind method that's cheap, portable and powerful in detecting harmful nanoplastics particles has been developed by an international consortium of researchers, with far-reaching implications for global health ...
Environment
Sep 8, 2025
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76
The global use of face masks surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many have since been discarded as waste, contributing to land and water pollution.
Environment
Sep 8, 2025
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57
Scientists at the University of Manchester are calling for the creation of a global network of air monitoring stations to track the movement of airborne plastic pollution, which may be traveling further and faster around ...
Environment
Sep 5, 2025
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32
McGill University researchers have developed a novel method to replicate four types of microplastics commonly found in the environment, providing researchers with a standardized approach to study their toxic effects.
Environment
Sep 3, 2025
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30
As plastic pollution emerges as one of the planet's most pressing environmental threats, Tulane University scientists have published the first global assessment of where plastics pose the greatest ecological risks to marine ...
Environment
Sep 2, 2025
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73
