Microplastics: Transport, Impacts, Monitoring and Mitigation provides a critical analysis of our current understanding of microplastic science, the methods by which microplastic are observed in the environment, and our options for mitigation and remediation. The book is intended for those studying or working in the fields of environmental science and waste management (as well as associated areas), and provides the holistic context needed to evaluate and interpret the outputs associated with the interlinked problems of plastic and microplastics. In this manner, the reader will be invited to explore the ongoing challenges which have thus far prevented the development of a thorough understanding of the risk posed by plastic and microplastic pollution to be able to discuss the implications of ongoing uncertainty to effective plastic management and evaluate the current strategies to control the ongoing proliferation of plastic pollution.
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Preface
Dedication
List of Abbreviations
1. The Proliferation of Plastics macro to nano
Section 1: Observation and Effects in the Environment
2. Microplastics on the Move
3. Environmental Accumulation, Environmental Monitoring
4. Exploring Interaction, Uptake, and Impacts
5. Ecosystem Level Effects
6. Associated Pollutants and Secondary Effects
Section 2: A great many Rs: the societal response to the plastic problem
7. A great many Rs
8. Recover and Remove: rise of the litter collector
9. Consume: increasing the rate of fragmentation and degradation of polymers
10. Policy Priorities: emerging trends in a global response
11. Solutions” vs. sustainability
12. Microplastic Forecast
Back Matter
Glossary
Dr Natalie Welden (University of Glasgow) is a marine biologist and ecotoxicologist with over a decades research experience in the field of microplastic pollution. Her previous publications have explored the chemical and mechanical breakdown of large plastic debris, the transport and deposition of microplastics, and their uptake and impacts in aquatic species. In her work, there has been a key focus on the effects of microplastic fibers on nutritional state and survivorship in commercially important species, as well as on potential solutions to the issue of plastic pollution. Most recently, Natalie has been working on the movement of plastics in agricultural settings, examining their sources, migration, and fate in a farm setting.
