Emerging microplastics in the environment: Properties, distributions, and impacts

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging and recalcitrant micropollutants in the environment, which have attracted soaring interests from a wide range of research disciplines. To this end, numerous technologies have been devised to understand the properties, environmental behaviors, and potential impacts/hazards of MPs. Herein, we present a review on the properties, environmental distribution and possible impacts. In this review, a comprehensive introduction of the most universal types of MPs, their shapes and characters will be first presented. Then the distributions of MPs in the environment and the impacts on microbe, plants, and human will be reported. Finally, major challenges and directions will be discussed to provide some clues to the better understanding, control and migration of MPs pollution in future studies.

Keywords: Fate and transport; Microplastics; Shapes; Toxicology; Types.