TY - JOUR
T1 - Twenty years of microplastic pollution research—what have we learned?
AU - Thompson, Richard C.
AU - Courtene-Jones, Winnie
AU - Boucher, Julien
AU - Pahl, Sabine
AU - Raubenheimer, Karen
AU - Koelmans, Albert A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 the authors,
PY - 2024/10/24
Y1 - 2024/10/24
N2 - Twenty years after the first publication that used the term microplastic, we review current understanding, refine definitions, and consider future prospects. Microplastics arise from multiple sources, including tires, textiles, cosmetics, paint, and the fragmentation of larger items. They are widely distributed throughout the natural environment, with evidence of harm at multiple levels of biological organization. They are pervasive in food and drink and have been detected throughout the human body, with emerging evidence of negative effects. Environmental contamination could double by 2040, and wide-scale harm has been predicted. Public concern is increasing, and diverse measures to address microplastic pollution are being considered in international negotiations. Clear evidence on the efficacy of potential solutions is now needed to address the issue and to minimize the risks of unintended consequences.
AB - Twenty years after the first publication that used the term microplastic, we review current understanding, refine definitions, and consider future prospects. Microplastics arise from multiple sources, including tires, textiles, cosmetics, paint, and the fragmentation of larger items. They are widely distributed throughout the natural environment, with evidence of harm at multiple levels of biological organization. They are pervasive in food and drink and have been detected throughout the human body, with emerging evidence of negative effects. Environmental contamination could double by 2040, and wide-scale harm has been predicted. Public concern is increasing, and diverse measures to address microplastic pollution are being considered in international negotiations. Clear evidence on the efficacy of potential solutions is now needed to address the issue and to minimize the risks of unintended consequences.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206017334&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/context/bms-research/article/3229/viewcontent/adl2746_ArticleContent_v4_combined.pdf
U2 - 10.1126/science.adl2746
DO - 10.1126/science.adl2746
M3 - Review article
C2 - 39298564
AN - SCOPUS:85206017334
SN - 2096-5672
VL - 386
JO - Journal of Bio-X Research
JF - Journal of Bio-X Research
IS - 6720
M1 - eadl2746
ER -