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Urban water quality and chemical pollution
Published in Thomas Bolognesi, Francisco Silva Pinto, Megan Farrelly, Routledge Handbook of Urban Water Governance, 2023
Serge Stoll, Stéphan Ramseier Gentile
Regarding the impact of microplastics, microplastics are likely to be eaten by aquatic organisms by mistake, and the significant bioaccumulation and bioamplification of microplastics in aquatics organisms are expected to result in potential biological toxicity and cause environmental issues. In addition, microplastics exhibit large specific surface area and strong hydrophobicity and consequently can adsorb other contaminants, such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, that are expected to amplify microplastics biological toxicity. In particular, the reduced size of nanoplastics makes them susceptible of being ingested by microorganisms that are at the base of the food chain (Saavedra Vargas, 2019; Pochelon, 2021). Concerning drinking waters, microplastics increase health concerns due not only to possible mechanical effects associated with particle ingestion, but also to the presence of monomers or additives, or the capability of microplastics to adsorb and desorb environmental toxic chemicals, which may exacerbate their toxicity. Microplastics and associated chemicals could lead to oxidative stress, cellular damage, inflammatory and immune responses, and neurotoxic and metabolic changes. Despite the urgent need to assess this issue, it should be noted that the effects of microplastics on human health are still largely unknown and no prescriptions are in place today regulating the content of microplastics in drinking water.
Communication
Published in Walter DeGrange, Lucia Darrow, Field Guide to Compelling Analytics, 2022
The trash could be perceived as just trash or it could be perceived as a sign of greater harm to the environment. Although no one can control this perception for each individual, the presenter can lead the audience on a story that provides context. In the case of our example, a presenter could show a picture of one piece of trash on the side of the road and then walk the audience through the lifecycle of this rubbish. Perhaps it makes its way into local waterways and decomposes into microplastics. Microplastics disrupt the ecosystems and even make their way back into the food system. The story increases the probability that more people would care about this issue.
The Essentials of Polymer Chemistry
Published in Armen S. Casparian, Gergely Sirokman, Ann O. Omollo, Rapid Review of Chemistry for the Life Sciences and Engineering, 2021
Armen S. Casparian, Gergely Sirokman, Ann O. Omollo
Resembling a patchwork quilt, this was probably the origin and initial recognition of the microplastics pollution problem. Most microplastics come from plastic pollution that gets broken down in the ocean and then ingested by marine animals and organisms. Particles are usually identified by manually separating them from animal tissue, suspending the particles in a solvent, and then analyzing them using spectroscopic techniques such as infrared or Raman spectroscopy. Both particle count and particle mass are important to measure and are determined by different analytical techniques. Microplastics are defined as plastic fragments whose size is between 1 micron and 5 mm. Nanoplastics are even smaller particles, less than 100 nm in size. A human hair has an average diameter in the range of 25–50 microns (1 micron = 1 μm = 1000 nm).
Regenerated silk fibroin loaded with natural additives: a sustainable approach towards health care
Published in Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2023
Niranjana Jaya Prakash, Xungai Wang, Balasubramanian Kandasubramanian
Biomedical waste management (BMWM) is a universal concern and, if not handled with care and attention, can pose a severe threat to the environment [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic has further played a significant role in accelerating the non-degradable healthcare waste disposed into nature. The unmanaged plastic-based medical discarded can undergo deterioration over time on the action of environmental factors that include rain, sunlight, humidity, and wind, causing them to break down into microplastics [2,3]. Microplastics have proven to trigger various health hazards such as immunological dysfunction, reproductive disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and chronic respiratory diseases in human beings and further can cause severe impact on flora and fauna [4]. A report released by WHO in 2018 showed that every day around 0.5 Kg of hazardous medical waste is generated per bed in high-income countries and about 0.2 Kg in low-income countries, contributing to 15% of total medical waste generated, posing a serious threat to the environment [5].
Polycyclic musks in the environment: A review of their concentrations and distribution, ecological effects and behavior, current concerns and future prospects
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2021
Jianv Liu, Wenying Zhang, Qixing Zhou, Qingqin Zhou, Yu Zhang, Linfang Zhu
Plastic particles smaller than or equal to 5 mm are defined as microplastics. Microplastics that persist in the environment for a long time have certain adsorption abilities for environmental pollutants due to their recalcitrance and high specific surface area (Brennecke, Duarte, Paiva, Cacador, & Canning-Clode, 2016). To determine the sorption of PCMs to microplastics, Zhang et al. (2018) examined the sorption of three PCMs (AHTN, MK, MX) to microplastics in a simulated seawater environment. According to the sorption kinetics analysis, the adsorption reached equilibrium within 10 hours. Moreover, the adsorption capacity increased with decreasing sizes of the plastic particles, so smaller plastic particles might pose a risk to the marine environment (Terepocki, Brush, Kleine, Shugart, & Hodum, 2017). At present, there are only preliminary studies on PCM adsorption onto microplastics, and the related mechanism is not very clear. The adsorption capacity is mainly related to the hydrophobic force between the hydrophobic zones on the surfaces of microplastic particles and organic pollutants and the interaction of π bonds. The adsorption capacity is also related to the distribution density and uniformity of adsorption sites on the surfaces of the microplastic particles. The mechanisms of PCM adsorption by microplastics might include surface adsorption, pore filling and distribution.
Direct and indirect effects of microplastics on bivalves, with a focus on edible species: A mini-review
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2020
Feng Zhang, Yu Bon Man, Wing Yin Mo, Ka Yan Man, Ming Hung Wong
Microplastics can cause human health problems via toxicological pathways, including physical effects and chemical effects (Smith et al., 2018). Regarding physical effects, the bio-persistence of microplastics in human tissue can induce inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis and necrosis (Wright & Kelly, 2017). Plastic microplastic fibers have been found in human lung tissue taken from patients with lung cancer (Pauly et al., 1998). A study of the effects of microplastics on cerebral and epithelial human cells revealed that oxidative stress was one of the mechanisms of cytotoxicity at the cellular level (Schirinzi et al., 2017). Free radicals formulated by the dissociation of the C − H bonds during the weathering of plastics might pose a health risk to humans (White & Turnbull, 1994). However, adverse effects on human health are still controversial and not well understood.