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.
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
1
34
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
0
29
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
0
31
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
0
16
Chemicals released from car tires as they wear down are washing into rivers, estuaries and the sea and they could be disrupting life at the base of the marine food web, according to a new study.
Ecology
Aug 4, 2025
0
25
Plastic pollution is a "grave, growing and under-recognized danger" to health that is costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year, experts warned in a report on Monday.
Environment
Aug 4, 2025
1
199
Negotiators will take another stab at reaching a global pact on plastic pollution at talks opening Tuesday in Geneva but they face deep divisions over how to tackle the health and ecological hazard.
Environment
Aug 2, 2025
0
74
In the 1990s, scientists restoring streams around Seattle, Wash., noticed that returning coho salmon were dying after rainstorms. The effects were immediate: the fish swam in circles, gasping at the surface, then died in ...
Environment
Jul 31, 2025
0
20
New measurements of fine microplastic particles suspended in the air in homes and cars suggest that humans may be inhaling far greater amounts of lung-penetrating microplastics than previously thought. Nadiia Yakovenko and ...
Environment
Jul 30, 2025
1
214
Rising levels of plastic waste are breaking down in every part of Earth's land, sea and air, leading to the proliferation of micro- and nanoplastic pollution, posing a risk to all lifeforms.
Environment
Jul 29, 2025
0
31
