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It is considered that microplastics might further degrade to be smaller in size, although the smallest microplastic reportedly detected in the oceans in 2017 was 1.6 micrometres (6.3×10 −5 in) in diameter. [32]
[8] [9] Primary microplastics make up between 15% and 31% of the growing amount of marine microplastic pollution, which is related to the corporative expansion of large-scale plastic production. [9] Like microbeads, preproduction plastic pellets can be released directly into the environment as a form of primary microplastic pollution. [9]
The Ocean Conservancy reported that China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam dump more plastic in the sea than all other countries combined. [41] It is estimated that 10% of the plastics in the ocean are nurdles, making them one of the most common types of plastic pollution, along with plastic bags and food containers.
The term microplastics is used to differentiate from larger, non-microscopic plastic waste. Two classifications of microplastics are currently recognized. Primary microplastics include any plastic fragments or particles that are already 5.0 mm in size or less before entering the environment.
Microplastic remediation refers to environmental remediation techniques focused on the removal, treatment and containment of microplastics (small plastic particles) from environmental media such as soil, water, or sediment. [1] Microplastics can be removed using physical, chemical, or biological techniques. [2]
Humans are exposed to toxic chemicals and microplastics at all stages in the plastics life cycle. Microplastics effects on human health are of growing concern and an area of research. The tiny particles known as microplastics (MPs), have been found in various environmental and biological matrices, including air, water, food, and human tissues.
The term is sometimes used to refer only to pollution by microplastics, pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size such as fibres shed from synthetic textiles in laundry: the British National Federation of Women's Institutes passed a resolution in 2017 headlined "End Plastic Soup" but concentrating on this aspect of pollution.
A microbead imaged using scanning electron microscopy. Microbeads are manufactured solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their largest dimension [4] when they are first created, and are typically created using material such as polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon (PA), polypropylene (PP), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). [5]