Bisphenol A in Aquatic Environment: Occurrence, Environmental Fate, Ecotoxicology, and Management Strategies

Microplastic Pollution in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Health Impacts and Remediation Strategies: A Systematic Review

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm that have become a growing environmental concern due to their persistence and widespread distribution. They originate from diverse sources, including laundry detergents, vehicle tires, cosmetic microbeads, and the degradation of larger plastics through ultraviolet radiation and saline exposure. This systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines to summarize current knowledge on the environmental and human health effects of microplastics. A comprehensive literature search was performed in ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, yielding 2694 initial records. After applying exclusion criteria and removing duplicates, 111 studies were selected for full reading, and 54 articles were ultimately included in the analysis. The results reveal that microplastics can absorb and release pollutants, leading to the contamination of water and soil and enabling them to enter the food chain, thereby posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health. However, significant discrepancies were found among the databases regarding the amount and quality of available data, highlighting the need for standardized research approaches. In conclusion, understanding the sources, distribution, and impacts of microplastics is crucial to developing strategies to mitigate their release, and further research is essential to assess their long-term effects and to guide environmental policy.

Review on emerging marine pollutants: sources, risks, and governance of EDCs, PFAS, microplastics, and antibiotics

Systematic review of emerging environmental contaminants: sources, environmental fate, and impacts.

Objectives This review aimed to synthesize recent advances in the understanding of emerging contaminants (ECs), including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics and nanoplastics, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and engineered nanomaterials. It critically assessed their sources, environmental pathways, transformation mechanisms, and ecological and human health impacts, while identifying knowledge gaps and future research priorities. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework. Peer-reviewed research articles and critical reviews were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Emphasis was placed on studies that used advanced analytical techniques, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and biosensor-based detection methods. Results The findings indicated that ECs are characterized by high environmental persistence, complex transformation pathways, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer potential. Reported impacts included endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, antimicrobial resistance, and ecological imbalance. Across global environmental compartments, these pollutants pose long-term risks to ecosystems and human health. Their distinctive partitioning behavior and environmental persistence challenge standard ecological assessment frameworks and underscore the need for comprehensive toxicological evaluations and robust regulatory oversight to mitigate long-term biological accumulation and adverse physiological effects in aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Conclusion This review highlights the urgent need for improved regulatory frameworks, standardized monitoring approaches, and sustainable remediation strategies for ECs. By integrating advanced analytical methods, computational tools, and circular economy principles, the review provides a timely contribution to environmental science and policy and supports informed decision-making for environmental protection and public health.

Occurrence, fate, monitoring challenges, and bio-based adsorbents for sustainable remediation of emerging contaminants in low- and middle-income countries

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are increasingly reported in surface water, groundwater, wastewater, sediments, and drinking water sources. However, their occurrence, environmental fate, exposure risks, monitoring challenges, and treatment needs remain inadequately assessed in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review critically examines and provides an update on recent evidence on EC occurrence, with emphasis on monitoring gaps and biomass-based remediation. The literature review shows that EC monitoring in LMICs remains fragmented, geographically uneven, and often restricted to a narrow set of target compounds, creating uncertainty in exposure assessment, risk prioritization, and water-safety planning. Similarly, bio-based adsorbents derived from agricultural residues, forestry by-products, aquatic biomass, cellulose, chitosan, lignocellulosic waste, and biochar offer locally adaptable options for decentralized EC remediation. Their performance is governed by pore structure, surface charge, aromaticity, mineral content, and oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups, which promote pore filling, electrostatic attraction, ion exchange, hydrogen bonding, π–π interactions, hydrophobic partitioning, and surface complexation. However, reported adsorption capacities remain difficult to compare because performance is strongly influenced by pH, initial concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose, matrix composition, regeneration cycles, and the selected performance metric. Although these bio-based adsorbents are often considered low-cost and sustainable, this cannot guarantee their practical adoption. Field deployment requires validation in real-water matrices, continuous-flow testing, regeneration safety, spent-media management, life-cycle and cost assessment, regulatory acceptance, and community-level usability. Future studies should prioritize multi-contaminant systems, standardized metrics, and AI-assisted material optimization linked to global monitoring frameworks.

Emerging Contaminants in Aquaculture Production: Environmental and Human Health Risks

The contamination of aquaculture products and effluents by Emerging Contaminants (ECs)—originating from both direct chemical applications and peripheral industrial activities—represents a critical global concern due to the environmental and public health risks associated with their persistence, bioaccumulation, and environmental dispersion. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the available scientific evidence on the occurrence, sources, environmental and human health impacts, and mitigation strategies of ECs in aquaculture production systems. A systematic literature search was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines across the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Studies were selected according to predefined eligibility criteria, resulting in a total of 137 studies included in this review. The findings indicate that these pollutants accumulate within the tissues of farmed organisms, posing direct ingestion risks to humans, while contaminated effluents facilitate the widespread degradation of receiving water bodies. Given their environmental persistence and ubiquitous distribution, there is an urgent need for advanced analytical methodologies, robust regulatory frameworks, and the implementation of sustainable treatment technologies—such as advanced oxidation processes and recirculating aquaculture systems—alongside strategies for reducing antibiotics and microplastics. These measures are essential to mitigate the prevalence of ECs and safeguard both ecosystem integrity and human health.

Microplastics in urban surface waters: origin, form, dispersion, aquatic pollution, contamination and legislation

Microplastic pollution has become an emerging environmental and public health concern, especially in urban surface waters affected by improper disposal of single-use plastics and limited waste management infrastructure. This bibliographic study analyzes scientific literature published between 2017 and 2026 on origin, size, morphology, dispersion, environmental impacts, health risks, sustainability challenges, and regulatory responses related to microplastics. Evidence indicates that fibers, fragments, and films derived from synthetic polymers such as Polyethylene terephthalate - PET, polyethylene - PE, Polypropylene - PP, Polystyrene - PS and Polyvinyl chloride - PVC. They are frequently detected in aquatic systems, sediments, and organisms, including species of socioeconomic relevance in Brazil and the Amazon region. The review also shows that current wastewater treatment and solid waste management systems remain insufficient to prevent the persistence and dispersion of these contaminants. The data obtained and analyzed reinforces the need for standardized monitoring, stricter regulation, improved reverse logistics, and public communication strategies to reduce environmental exposure and accumulation