Abstract
The distribution and abundance of microplastics into the world are so extensive that many scientists use them as key indicators of the recent and contemporary period defining a new historical epoch: The Plasticene. However, the implications of microplastics are not yet thoroughly understood. There is considerable complexity involved to understand their impact due to different physical–chemical properties that make microplastics multifaceted stressors. If, on the one hand, microplastics carry toxic chemicals in the ecosystems, thus serving as vectors of transport, they are themselves, on the other hand, a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that are added voluntarily during their production as additives to increase polymer properties and prolong their life. To date, there is a considerable lack of knowledge on the major additives of concern that are used in the plastic industry, on their fate once microplastics dispose into the environment, and on their consequent effects on human health when associated with micro and nanoplastics. The present study emphasizes the most toxic and dangerous chemical substances that are contained in all plastic products to describe the effects and implications of these hazardous chemicals on human health, providing a detailed overview of studies that have investigated their abundance on microplastics. In the present work, we conducted a capillary review of the literature on micro and nanoplastic exposure pathways and their potential risk to human health to summarize current knowledge with the intention of better focus future research in this area and fill knowledge gaps.
Highlights
The distribution and abundance of microplastics into the world are so extensive that many scientists use them as key indicators of the recent and contemporary period defining a new historical epoch: The Plasticene
The authors of [73] investigated the sorption behavior of two phthalate esters (PAEs), diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), on three types of microplastics with particle sizes of less than 75 μm (PVC: polyvinyl chloride; PE: polyethene; and PS: polystyrene), and they demonstrated that hydrophobic interaction governed the partition mechanism
Persistent pollutants like microplastics are recognized as a vector for the proliferation of metal/antibiotics, and human pathogens and horizontal gene transference between the phylogenetically distinct microbes that are present on microplastics are much faster than free-living microbes
Summary
In the last 70 years, we have abetted an increasing growth in the worldwide plastics production, which has spread into the environment to such a point that we can say to live in a plastic world [1,2] These synthetic polymers are environmental pollutants themselves and act as vectors of transport of various kind of chemicals [3], but they are considered valid indicators of the recent and contemporary period, generally after the middle of the 20th century [4]. 2 and is possible one ofa recalcitrant organic in fossils Such synthetic fossil-based materials are 3, soitabundant andto observe that plastics were even to fill surface, probably to obtain double advantage: no disposal widespread on used.
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