Microplastics in Water and Terrestrial Environments: A Growing Concern to Public Health
Abstract
Marine litt er plasti cs breakdown leads to the formati on of microplasti cs (MPs), plasti c parti cles of less than 5 mm in size. MPs can persist in the environment and transfer from one trophic level to another (bioaccumulati on), resulti ng in damage to the enti re ecosystem. The objective of this study is to describe the eff ects of MPs on aquati c and terrestrial organisms, humans, and their associati on with coronavirus disease. For many aquati c animals, aft er ingesti on, MPs block the intestine, decrease steroid hormone levels, cause reproductive interference, stunt growth, and decrease the absorpti on of nutrients. There are MPs below the surface as well, and many living things can help them move by eati ng, digging, and sti cking to them. MPs have a high capacity for contaminati on, both in water and terrestrial environments, and negati vely aff ect the quality of life of the biota with adverse eff ects that can result in serious damage to animals, which leads to obstructi on and blockage of the intesti ne. Currently, MP intake rates account for around 20% by mass of the total food ingested every day, generally due to the lack of data on other foods. Most of the living organisms accidentally consume MPs with their food sources in an ecosystem. Two additi onal variables contributed to the spike in plasti c usage after the coronavirus disease outbreak: the suspension of plasti c use laws owing to concerns about increased virus transmission and the decline in petroleum prices as a result of decreased global oil demand.
How to cite this article:
Vityala S, Kanteti P, Abdul H M,Vityala Y, Damineni
U, Bellam S, Paladugu J B, Nenavath S. Microplasti cs
in Water and Terrestrial Environments: A Growing
Concern to Public Health. Int J Preven Curat
Comm Med. 2023;9(3&4):16-24.
DOI: htt ps://doi.org/10.24321/2454.325X.202308
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