Jolaosho Toheeb Lekan, Rasaq Mariam Folashade, Omotoye Eniola Victoria, Araomo Oluwadamilola Victoria, Adekoya Opeyemi Shakirat, Abolaji Opeyemi Yusuf, Hungbo Jesuyon Joseph
Faculty of Spatial Science, University of Groningen, Netherlands; Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria; Faculty of Marine Science, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria.
Faculty of Spatial Science, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Apr 1;294:118036. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118036. Epub 2025 Mar 18.
Most of the literature on microplastics (MPs) focuses on freshwater or terrestrial ecosystems, frequently overlooking their interconnections with the marine environments. This oversight is worrying given that both ecosystems serve as primary pathways for the introduction of MPs into marine environments. This review synthesizes existing literature on MPs in both freshwater and marine ecosystems across all six continents. The most commonly produced plastic polymers in industry are polyethylene (36 %) and polypropylene (21 %), and studies revealed that these two materials are the most abundant in aquatic ecosystems. Primary and secondary MPs originate from a range of sources including land-based disposal, the ocean, airborne deposition, wastewater treatment facilities, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, synthetic textiles, and insect repellents. Notably, secondary MPs, which are formed from the breakdown of larger plastic items comprise approximately 69-81% of marine debris, especially in urbanized, densely populated areas. The inconsistencies of the methodologies (sampling, extraction, and quantification) and the units employed for result presentations are part of the major limitations in MPs research. Environmental phenomena such as heteroaggregation, weathering, adsorption, leaching, and fragmentation are the major factors influencing the behavior, fate, and degradation process of plastic particles. The physicochemical properties of plastic polymers, such as density, crystallinity, as well as bioturbation, meteorological forces, and wind actions, including currents, waves, and tides, are responsible for biofouling, aggregation, sinking into the bottom sediment, resuspension, and the vertical, horizontal, and spatiotemporal distributions and transport of MPs. The potential solutions to mitigate plastic pollution are grounded in the 3Rs framework, which includes reducing production and consumption, advancing the biotechnological, chemical and microbial development of degradable polymers, promoting reusable plastic products with lower environmental impacts over their lifetimes, and recycling waste into new products. The regulatory policies on single-use plastics commonly involve permanent bans and financial penalties for violators. In addition, nations such as the United States, the Netherlands, and northern Europe have introduced economic incentives to encourage the return of reusable materials to reduce plastic waste and the resulting envrionmental pollution.
大多数关于微塑料（MPs）的文献都聚焦于淡水或陆地生态系统，常常忽视它们与海洋环境的相互联系。鉴于这两个生态系统都是微塑料进入海洋环境的主要途径，这种忽视令人担忧。本综述综合了六大洲淡水和海洋生态系统中关于微塑料的现有文献。工业上最常用的塑料聚合物是聚乙烯（36%）和聚丙烯（21%），研究表明这两种材料在水生生态系统中最为丰富。原生微塑料和次生微塑料有多种来源，包括陆基处置、海洋、大气沉降、污水处理设施、汽车、药品和个人护理产品、合成纺织品以及驱虫剂。值得注意的是，由较大塑料物品分解形成的次生微塑料约占海洋垃圾的69 - 81%，尤其是在城市化程度高、人口密集的地区。方法学（采样、提取和定量）的不一致以及结果呈现所采用的单位是微塑料研究的主要局限之一。诸如异质聚集、风化、吸附、浸出和破碎等环境现象是影响塑料颗粒行为、归宿和降解过程的主要因素。塑料聚合物的物理化学性质，如密度、结晶度，以及生物扰动、气象力量和风力作用，包括洋流、波浪和潮汐，决定了生物污损、聚集、沉入底部沉积物、再悬浮以及微塑料的垂直、水平和时空分布与迁移。减轻塑料污染的潜在解决方案基于3R框架，其中包括减少生产和消费、推进可降解聚合物的生物技术、化学和微生物开发、推广在其生命周期内对环境影响较小的可重复使用塑料制品，以及将废物回收制成新产品。对一次性塑料的监管政策通常包括永久禁令和对违规者的经济处罚。此外，美国、荷兰和北欧等国家已出台经济激励措施，鼓励回收可重复使用材料，以减少塑料垃圾及由此造成的环境污染。
