Microplastics: Sources, Fate, and Remediations
Special Issue of Environmental Engineering Science, the official journal of AEESP
Guest Editors:
Maryam Salehi
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA mshfp@missouri.edu
Lauren N. Pincus
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA lpincus@princeton.edu
Baolin Deng
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA dengb@missouri.edu
Microplastic pollution is a growing problem that can impact aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, human health, and the global environment. Urban areas have emerged as significant hotspots for plastic pollution because of their intensive uses, accompanied by plastic degradation and disintegration, littering, improper waste management practices, and wastewater treatment plant discharges. Furthermore, agricultural plastic products and landfills have become substantial sources of plastic pollution in rural settings. Notably, the small size of microplastics released into terrestrial systems enhances their mobility, facilitating their transport into surrounding freshwater sources that serve as the drinking water supply for millions of consumers. Conventional water treatment methods may not be effective in removing microplastics, potentially allowing them to reach consumers' taps. This raises significant concerns regarding the health risks associated with the ingestion of microplastics. Moreover, the transport of plastic pollutants from inland waterways and coastal regions to the oceans poses a threat to freshwater and marine organisms. Therefore, we invite you to contribute your work exploring and addressing these critical issues, including but not limited to the plastic pollution in the following areas:
• Sources of microplastic pollution within urban and rural environments [e.g., wastewater treatment plants, agriculture]
• Microplastic production mechanisms and prevention approaches
• Transport pathways of microplastics [e.g., stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition]
• Fate of microplastics in terrestrial and freshwater water systems [e.g., fragmentation, photo-, bio-, and thermo- degradation]
• Mitigation practices of microplastic pollution within terrestrial and freshwater environments
• Microplastics removal from water and wastewater
• Plastic pollution in coastal and marine environments
• Uptake of microplastics and nanoplastics by organisms and its impact on ecosystems
• Sampling approaches and extraction of microplastics from water and sediment samples
• Advanced analytical methodologies for quantification and characterization of microplastics
Full manuscripts will undergo peer review and must be submitted online by March 31, 2024.
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Editorial questions? Contact Editor-in-Chief Catherine Peters or Associate Editor Ramana Gadhamshetty.
Manuscript preparation or technical questions? Contact Editorial Administrator Abigail Cook Dommer.