Marine and Freshwater Research Centre (MFRC), Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Dublin Rd., Galway, H91 T8NW, Ireland.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Jan;138:145-147. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.022. Epub 2018 Nov 22.
Polymer science is one of the most revolutionary research areas of the last century, instigated by the discovery of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic. Plastic, once a revolutionary material, has gradually become a global environmental threat with ubiquitous distribution. The term 'microplastics' coined in 2004, is used to describe the smaller plastic particles recorded, however there is still no all-inclusive definition that accurately encompasses all criteria that could potentially describe what a microplastic is. Here, the authors focus on the currently reported methods for describing and identifying microplastics and propose a new definition that incorporates all the important descriptive properties of microplastics. This definition not only focuses on size and origin, but also considers physical and chemical defining properties. While this manuscript may promote debate, it aims to reach a consensus on a definition for microplastics which can be useful for research, reporting and legislative purposes.
高分子科学是上个世纪最具革命性的研究领域之一，这一领域的起源是酚醛塑料（Bakelite）的发现，酚醛塑料是第一种合成塑料。塑料曾经是一种具有革命性的材料，但现已逐渐成为一种在全球范围内广泛存在的环境威胁。2004 年创造的术语“微塑料”用于描述记录到的较小的塑料颗粒，然而，仍然没有一个包罗万象的定义能够准确涵盖所有可能描述微塑料的标准。在这里，作者专注于目前报道的描述和识别微塑料的方法，并提出了一个新的定义，该定义包含了微塑料所有重要的描述性特征。这个定义不仅关注尺寸和来源，还考虑了物理和化学的定义属性。虽然本文可能会引发争议，但它旨在就微塑料的定义达成共识，这对于研究、报告和立法目的是有用的。
