Microplastics in the Environment: Fate, Impacts, Removal, and Management

Microplastics in the Environment addresses the biggest unresolved pollution issue: microplastics accumulating in the environment at a rapidly growing rate, giving rise to severe ecological stress and novel diseases in both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. This book is a one-stop resource that ties together the latest developments in this fast-moving field, including analytical techniques, risk assessment methods and predictive approaches, and evaluates different strategies that make it possible to minimize and redress microplastics pollution in the near and distant future.

The book is organized into three main parts. Part one explains the fundamental ideas underlying microplastics, including their classification, major sources, detection and characterisation, as well as risk assessment methods. The second part covers the fate and transport of microplastics in various environmental domains, their interaction with ecosystems and the exposure of humans to environment-borne microplastics. The final part surveys current and future approaches to limit and remove the environmental effects of microplastics, from replacement of plastics with biodegradable substitutes to more efficient recycling of plastics to their active removal and remediation.

Microplastics in the Environment includes information on:

• Microplastics’ interaction with agricultural crops, the food and construction industries and water and solid waste pollution control systems
• Microplastics in microbial communities, crops and soil and the subsequent impacts on microbial metabolism, plant growth and geo-chemical properties of soil, respectively
• Consumption of microplastics by aquatic life and consequent effects of microplastics on the development of aquatic organisms including corals, invertebrates and marine and freshwater biota
• Global strategies, existing regulations and policies focused on microplastics management

With its emphasis on management and remediation, Microplastics in the Environment is a valuable resource for environmental scientists, government agencies and researchers working in the field of microplastics pollution.