Microplastics in the Atmosphere and Water Bodies of Coastal Agglomerations: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Microplastics are ubiquitously in various environments from the equator to the poles. Coastal agglomerations act as both a source and sink connecting the global microplastic cycles of oceans and continents. While the problem of microplastics is particularly severe and complex in the coastal zones, where both inland and marine pollution are concentrated, the present study aimed to provide hot topics and trends of coastal urban microplastic studies and to review the researches on microplastic pollution in the atmosphere and water bodies in coastal agglomerations in terms of characteristics, behavior, and health threat of microplastics. The results of the bibliometric analysis showed an increase in the annual output of microplastic research. Research hot topics and clusters were analyzed using the VOSviewer. Characteristics of microplastics varied in abundance, size, and polymer type in different environments and countries. Furthermore, coastal cities are taken as a system to sort out the input, output, and internal transmission pathways of microplastics. The health threat of microplastics to urban residents was briefly reviewed and the exposure and health risks of microplastics to infants and young children were of particular concern. Detailed and comprehensive studies on intervention and reduction in the transmission of microplastics between the atmosphere and water bodies, whether microplastics are harmful to infants and young children, and measures to reduce the risk of microplastic exposure are needed.

Microplastic pollution as an environmental risk exacerbating the greenhouse effect and climate change: a review

“…Even in the marine atmosphere far from the coast, MPs particles have been found (Trainic et al 2020), indicating that the potential long-distance transboundary atmospheric transport of MPs is gradually becoming a significant environmental pollution source in the atmosphere (Zhang et al 2023a). Atmospheric MPs are more transient and transportable than those found in aquatic environments (Bao et al 2023). Additionally, numerous studies have found that coarser dust particles in the air can induce a warming effect.…”

Unaccounted Microplastics in the Outlet of Wastewater Treatment Plants—Challenges and Opportunities

“…There are reports that compost and sewage sludge would contain significant plastics/MPs, and their use in agriculture can lead to the accumulation of plastic material in the soil [42,43]. Agricultural plastic mulching is a practice widely used by farmers that can also contribute to the MP pollution in soil [44,45]. In addition, irrigation and aerial deposition can introduce plastic materials into the soil system [12,46].…”

A comprehensive approach to evaluate microplastic biodegradation potential of mangrove rhizobacteria

“…The microplastics in the environment include those manufactured for a variety of uses such as microbeads or naturally weathered particles from larger plastic objects which subsequently reach the aquatic bodies (Caruso, 2019;Loganathan and Kizhakedathil, 2022). The primary sources may be runoff from landfills, road-making paints, tyre debris, sewage, agriculture practices, synthetic cloth manufacturing and fragmentation of plastics (Bao et al, 2023). They get heavily accumulated in water bodies, amounting to 150 million tonnes in the marine environment.…”