A Review on Microplastic, an Environmental Pollutant

Microplastics (MP) have the greatest impact on human health through drinking water and food exposure. A variety of MPs are abundant in different study areas, such as urban and rural areas, both indoors and outdoors, from soils to aquatic systems, as well as the digestive tract of vertebrates and invertebrates. In this field, more than 75,000 research articles have been published but the public was less aware of the problem. Although, government introduces new policies and regulations on plastic waste disposal, implementation of such measures is still challenging. In this review article, existing scientific literature is reviewed in an attempt to understand MP pollution. The article discusses various topics such as the sources of microplastics, transport methods, their physical and chemical nature, sampling techniques, identification methods, as well as policies and mitigation strategies.