Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: Shahab_rezania89@yahoo.com
  • 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: junbpark@snu.ac.kr
  • 3 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Civil Engineering, Jami Institute of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
  • 5 Institute of Environment and Development Studies, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi 284128, India
  • 6 Department of Engineering, UTM Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Mar Pollut Bull, 2018 Aug;133:191-208.
PMID: 30041307 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.022

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are generated from plastic and have negative impact to our environment due to high level of fragmentation. They can be originated from various sources in different forms such as fragment, fiber, foam and so on. For detection of MPs, many techniques have been developed with different functions such as microscopic observation, density separation, Raman and FTIR analysis. Besides, due to ingestion of MPs by wide range of marine species, research on the effect of this pollution on biota as well as human is vital. Therefore, we comprehensively reviewed the occurrence and distribution of MPs pollution in both marine and freshwater environments, including rivers, lakes and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). For future studies, we propose the development of new techniques for sampling MPs in aquatic environments and biota and recommend more research regarding MPs release by WWTPs.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.