Microplastics are small plastic particles (<1 mm) originating from the degradation of larger plastic debris. These microplastics have been accumulating in the marine environment for decades and have been detected throughout the water column and in sublittoral and beach sediments worldwide. However, up to now, it has never been established whether microplastic presence in sediments is limited to...

Microplastics contamination of Lake Ontario sediments is investigated with the aim of identifying distribution patterns and hotspots in nearshore, tributary and beach depositional environments. Microplastics are concentrated in nearshore sediments in the vicinity of urban and industrial regions. In Humber Bay and Toronto Harbour microplastic concentrations were consistently >500 particles per k...

Neustonic microplastic and zooplankton abundance was determined in the North Western Mediterranean Sea during a summer cruise between July 9th and August 6th 2010, with a break between July 22 th and 25th due to a strong wind event. Ninety percent of the 40 stations contained microplastic particles (size 0.3-5mm) of various compositions: e.g., filaments, polystyrene, thin plastic films. An aver...

The indiscriminate disposal of plastic to the environment is of concern. Microscopic plastic litter (<5 mm diameter; 'microplastic') is increasing in abundance in the marine environment, originating from the fragmentation of plastic items and from industry and personal-care products [1]. On highly impacted beaches, microplastic concentrations (<1mm) can reach 3% by weight, presenting a global c...

Directly tracing the spatiotemporal dynamics of intermittent plasticity at the micro- and nanoscale reveals that the obtained slip dynamics are independent of applied stress over a range of up to ∼400 MPa, as well as being independent of plastic strain. Whilst this insensitivity to applied stress is unexpected for dislocation plasticity, the stress integrated statistical properties of both the ...

Since the mass production of plastics began in the 1940s, microplastic contamination of the marine environment has been a growing problem. Here, a review of the literature has been conducted with the following objectives: (1) to summarise the properties, nomenclature and sources of microplastics; (2) to discuss the routes by which microplastics enter the marine environment; (3) to evaluate the ...

Municipal wastewater effluent has been proposed as one pathway for microplastics to enter the aquatic environment. Here we present a broad study of municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent as a pathway for microplastic pollution to enter receiving waters. A total of 90 samples were analyzed from 17 different facilities across the United States. Averaging all facilities and sampling dates, ...

The effect of a pollutant on the base of the food web can have knock-on effects for trophic structure and ecosystem functioning. In this study we assess the effect of microplastic exposure on juveniles of a planktivorous fish (Acanthochromis polyacanthus), a species that is widespread and abundant on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Under five different plastic concentration treatments, with plastics ...

Due to the widespread use and durability of synthetic polymers, plastic debris occurs in the environment worldwide. In the present work, information on sources and fate of microplastic particles in the aquatic and terrestrial environment, and on their uptake and effects, mainly in aquatic organisms, is reviewed. Microplastics in the environment originate from a variety of sources. Quantitative ...