ReviewEnvironmental sciences Europe2016
Microplastics in the aquatic and terrestrial environment: sources (with a specific focus on personal care products), fate and effects.
Review in Environmental sciences Europe, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 191 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
191 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,710 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics.Current environmental health reports · 2023Pooled it
- Emerging investigator series: microplastic sources, fate, toxicity, detection, and interactions with micropollutants in aquatic ecosystems - a review of reviews.Environmental science. Processes & impacts · 2022Pooled it
- Composite polyphenols mitigate microplastic exposure-related immune disturbances: a two-phase population trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Human Exposome: Environmental Pathways, Kidney Toxicity, and Implications for Public Health Risk Assessment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Integrated Study of Polyethylene Microplastic Degradation and Its Interaction with the Insecticide Imidacloprid: Chronic Toxicity to Daphnia similis.Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology · 2026Article
- Establishment and characterization of an ovarian cell line from red seabream (Pagrus major) and its application in fish toxicology.In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Animal · 2026Article
- Microplastic Identification Methods for Microfluidic Applications: Towards Rapid Detection in Aquatic Environments.Polymers · 2026Review
- Heavy Metal Adsorption on Microplastics: Adsorption Mechanisms, Influencing Factors, Analytical Techniques, Toxicological Implications, and Remediation Strategies.Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation · 2026Review
- Microplastics as vectors for microbial transport: experimental interaction with Escherichia coli.Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology · 2026Article
- Microplastics and male reproductive system: A comprehensive review based on cellular and molecular effects.Toxicology reports · 2026Review
- Modified TiOPhotochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026Review
- Review
- Public awareness of microplastic pollution among residents of a western Turkish province and how it is reflected in demographics and behavioural practices.Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju · 2026Article
- Impact of polystyrene microplastic exposure at low doses on male fertility: an experimental study in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Optical Extraction of Single Microplastics Followed by Online Molecular and Elemental Characterization.Analytical chemistry · 2026Article
- Paternal Microplastic Exposure Alters Sperm Small Noncoding RNAs and Affects Offspring Metabolic Health in Mice.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
- Seasonal Variation of Microplastic Contamination in Landfill Leachate, River Water, and Soil During Premonsoon and Monsoon: First Evidence From Landfill Sites in Nepal.Journal of toxicology · 2026Article
- Fate, transport, and biological impacts of microplastics in agricultural soil-wheat systems: from soil movement to food safety.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
- Microplastic Pollution in the Environment: A Chemical Engineering Perspective on Sources, Fate, and Mitigation Strategies.Polymers · 2025Review
- Microplastic exposure elicits sex-specific atherosclerosis development in lean low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice.Environment international · 2025Article
131 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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 information on the relevance of these sources is generally lacking, but first estimates indicate that abrasion and fragmentation of larger plastic items and materials containing synthetic polymers are likely to be most relevant. Microplastics are ingested and, mostly, excreted rapidly by numerous aquatic organisms. So far, there is no clear evidence of bioaccumulation or biomagnification. In laboratory studies, the ingestion of large amounts of microplastics mainly led to a lower food uptake and, consequently, reduced energy reserves and effects on other physiological functions. Based on the evaluated data, the lowest microplastic concentrations affecting marine organisms exposed via water are much higher than levels measured in marine water. In lugworms exposed via sediment, effects were observed at microplastic levels that were higher than those in subtidal sediments but in the same range as maximum levels in beach sediments. Hydrophobic contaminants are enriched on microplastics, but the available experimental results and modelling approaches indicate that the transfer of sorbed pollutants by microplastics is not likely to contribute significantly to bioaccumulation of these pollutants. Prior to being able to comprehensively assess possible environmental risks caused by microplastics a number of knowledge gaps need to be filled. However, in view of the persistence of microplastics in the environment, the high concentrations measured at some environmental sites and the prospective of strongly increasing concentrations, the release of plastics into the environment should be reduced in a broad and global effort regardless of a proof of an environmental risk.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.