This book addresses the emergent need to act on reducing or getting rid of micro plastic pollution, to achieve a sustainable environment. Microplastics are small plastic pieces, which are less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our oceans and aquatic life. These predominantly include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets. Microplastics impact aquatic creatures, turtles and birds. According to the first study on estimation of human ingestion of microplastic, on average a person consumes at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and breathes a similar quantity. Ingested microplastic particles can physically damage organs and also compromise immune function and stymie growth and reproduction. This book presents six informative chapters in order to alleviate the above mentioned issues​.

Microplastics and nanoplastics have been recently found in most environmental media and in living organisms, thus representing a serious health concern of yet poorly known adverse consequences. This book summarizes recent findings on the sources, behavior, transformation, toxicity and remediation of microplastics, with focus on soils, water, wastewater, air, soils, plants and corals. Advanced methods for sampling, characterization, removal and degradation of microplastics.

This book sheds light on the causes, effects, and control of microplastic pollution, providing valuable insights into the tools and techniques for analysis, the impact on ecosystems, and the potential risks to human well-being. The editors focus on the urgency of addressing this global environmental challenge through collaborative efforts and sustainable solutions. This reference features 10 edited chapters covering multiple aspects of microplastic pollution. The book introduces the reader to various tools and techniques used to analyze microplastic pollution in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. It then examines the sources, pathways, and levels of microplastic contamination in the environment and explains how to assess the potential health risks for the nearby communities. The impact of microplastic on flora and fauna is presented in one chapter. To emphasize the importance of accurate assessment methods in understanding the extent and impact of microplastic contamination. The editors also present a case study conducted in Thoothukudi, South India, to explore the implications of microplastic pollution on human health. The book also provides information on solutions to microplastic pollution including the use of bioplastics and removal techniques. Microplastic Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Control It equips readers with a complete understanding of the global challenge of microplastics, fostering awareness and encouraging further research and action to protect our ecosystems and human health from their detrimental impact. It is an ideal handbook for environmental science researchers and students who need to understand microplastic pollution and plan environmental impact assessments for research projects in academic and professional settings, Key Features - Comprehensive coverage of microplastic pollution with 10 structured chapters - Informs readers about important parameters to understand and measure the impact of microplastics on local fauna, flora and the surrounding environment - Covers evaluation and remediation of microplastics in both terrestrial and marine environments - Includes references for advanced readers - Includes a case study on the effect of microplastics in Thoothukudi, South India

Microplastics are environmental contaminants consisting of small plastics ≤ 5 mm. Concerns over the adverse effects of microplastics have led to a rapid growth in the available literature despite the lack of harmonized methods and materials. Therefore, the field is becoming increasingly daunting to new researchers. A state-of-the-art guide was assembled following a comprehensive literature review of microplastics research with the intent of addressing contemporary challenges, prioritized based on a survey, and introducing best practices. The lack of standardized methods and reference materials, the lack of access to analytical equipment, and the difficulty in working with lower environmental concentrations in laboratory tests (e.g., toxicity assays) remain a great challenge. The present work addresses these issues across three main sections: definitions, sampling, and evaluation of adverse effects. Harmonized methods and greater collaboration were identified as opportunities in this rapidly evolving field. A review of available interlaboratory comparison tests was also conducted to support additional recommendations.

This volume discusses the growing issue of global environmental microplastic pollution resulting from the industrial manufacturing of everyday products. The book focuses on the emergence of microplastic pollution, types, sources, fate, dynamic trends in the environment, occurrence in different environmental settings, toxicity, risk assessment, and prevention strategies. The authors provide a detailed explanation and provision of the techniques used for the detection, separation, and identification of microplastics for use by industry workers and scientists, along with policy recommendations for legislative bodies to reduce the spread and impact of harmful microplastics. The book will be of use to students, teachers, researchers, policy makers, and environmental organizations.

This book provides recent developments and advancements in management of plastic wastes and associated challenges with it. It primarily addresses the issues of plastics that might drastically affect the lifeform in the long run and its prevention by introducing appropriate alternatives and/or finding strategies to mitigate the existing microplastic crisis using suitable approaches. It focusses on efforts on neutralizing and restricting further spread of microplastic pollution, its bioaccumulation and associated human health impacts. Features: Covers technological mitigation of plastics and microplastic wastes along with their remediation in a technical manner. Discusses advances in plastic and micro-/nano-plastic pollution and possible pathways of pollution. Demonstrates the mitigation measures to minimize such pollution loads, with a special focus on the application of nanotechnology. Reviews recycle and value-added products from the waste plastic. Focusses on development of alternate clean energy sources. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in environmental and chemical engineering and remediation.

This book provides an overview of the sources, occurrence, fate and solution of microplastics. Microplastics in sediment and soil environment have been only scarcely surveyed, and no profound discussion on microplastics removal is summarized until this book. Here we focus on sharing clear schematic information and the book sufficiently supports important microplastic topics: such as microbial network, microplastic toxicology and accumulation, agricultural plastics, nylon microplastics, polystyrene microplastics, polyethylene microplastics and many more. The book mainly provides an overview of recent advances in knowledge of sources, occurrence, distribution, chemical behavior and ecological threats while it also presents information related to feasible solutions for microplastic pollution management. This comprehensive resource will be valuable up-to-date knowledge for environmental scientists, ecotoxicologists, ecologists, marine biologists, environmental chemists in the academic field and this book is intended to be beneficial information for environmental managers, water suppliers, wastewater treatment, plastics manufacturer, and policy makers as well.

Microplastic Contamination in Aquatic Environments: An Emerging Matter of Environmental Urgency comprehensively illustrates the traditional and advanced technologies on sampling, identification and quantification of microplastic from different environmental media. Contributors summarize and discuss recent research on microplastic and examine studies on nano-sized plastic particles. Chapters cover a full range of microplastic research, including global distribution, detection, environmental fate, biological effects and political legislation. Users will find the book to be a comprehensive overview of microplastic research that is ideal for research and understanding on the occurrence of microplastic in aquatic environments. - Provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for sampling, identification and enumeration of microplastics - Contains contributions from world experts with a diverse range of backgrounds, all brought together by a well-known, experienced editor - Presents information on microplastics in a unified place, with easy access for the reader

Meso and Microplastic Risk Assessment in Marine Environment: New Threat and Challenges in Marine Environment presents an interdisciplinary approach, offering key techniques and management of microplastic contamination in the disciplines of environmental science, fisheries, oceanography, geology, chemistry, biology and ocean science. Sections cover an overview of microplastic in the marine environment, deal with the origin, occurrences, distribution and various methodologies (for dealing with microplastics) available for microplastics, address the global case study of microplastic separation using recent techniques, and discuss the impact of microplastics on human health and the surrounding environment. This book is an important step in the field of microplastic pollution mitigation in environmental science as it offers a thorough accounting of the effects of pollutants on the environment, marine organisms, and the public health implications, as such it is relevant for aquatic ecologists, oceanographers, toxicologists, and marine biologists. - Includes a range of topics from meso- to microplastics, including weathering and fragmentation processes of microplastics - Presents data from source to sink, such as the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in freshwater bodies, coastal zones and the open ocean - Presents the impacts of microplastics on marine life as well as microplastics as vectors of biological and chemical contaminants - Provides important analysis on the solutions and next steps

This open access book examines global plastic pollution, an issue that has become a critical societal challenge with implications for environmental and public health. This volume provides a comprehensive, holistic analysis on the plastic cycle and its subsequent effects on biota, food security, and human exposure. Importantly, global environmental change and its associated, systems-level processes, including atmospheric deposition, ecosystem complexity, UV exposure, wind patterns, water stratification, ocean circulation, etc., are all important direct and indirect factors governing the fate, transport and biotic and abiotic processing of plastic particles across ecosystem types. Furthermore, the distribution of plastic in the ocean is not independent of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics, since much of the plastic in marine ecosystems originates from land and should therefore be evaluated in the context of the larger plastic cycle. Changes in species size, distribution, habitat, and food web complexity, due to global environmental change, will likely alter trophic transfer dynamics and the ecological effects of nano- and microplastics. The fate and transport dynamics of plastic particles are influenced by their size, form, shape, polymer type, additives, and overall ecosystem conditions. In addition to the risks that plastics pose to the total environment, the potential impacts on human health and exposure routes, including seafood consumption, and air and drinking water need to be assessed in a comprehensive and quantitative manner. Here I present a holistic and interdisciplinary book volume designed to advance the understanding of plastic cycling in the environment with an emphasis on sources, fate and transport, ecotoxicology, climate change effects, food security, microbiology, sustainability, human exposure and public policy.