The DOI matches its Crossref record; 92 of the 92 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Characterizing microplastic hazards: which concentration metrics and particle characteristics are most informative for understanding toxicity in aquatic organisms?
Open accessAbstract
There is definitive evidence that microplastics, defined as plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, are ubiquitous in the environment and can cause harm to aquatic organisms. These findings have prompted legislators and environmental regulators to seek out strategies for managing risk. However, microplastics are also an incredibly diverse contaminant suite, comprising a complex mixture of physical and chemical characteristics (e.g., sizes, morphologies, polymer types, chemical additives, sorbed chemicals, and impurities), making it challenging to identify which particle characteristics might influence the associated hazards to aquatic life. In addition, there is a lack of consensus on how microplastic concentrations should be reported. This not only makes it difficult to compare concentrations across studies, but it also begs the question as to which concentration metric may be most informative for hazard characterization. Thus, an international panel of experts was convened to identify 1) which concentration metrics (e.g., mass or count per unit of volume or mass) are most informative for the development of health-based thresholds and risk assessment and 2) which microplastic characteristics best inform toxicological concerns. Based on existing knowledge, it is recommended that microplastic concentrations in toxicity tests are calculated from both mass and count at minimum, though ideally researchers should report additional metrics, such as volume and surface area, which may be more informative for specific toxicity mechanisms. Regarding particle characteristics, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that particle size is a critical determinant of toxicological outcomes, particularly for the mechanisms of food dilution and tissue translocation .
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“Exposure in humans includes a diversity of particles present in environmental samples (e.g., numerous polymer types, morphologies, additives, sizes).32,33”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“Exposure in humans includes a diversity of particles present in environmental samples (e.g., numerous polymer types, morphologies, additives, sizes).32,33”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [32]
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“The diversity of microplastics in the environment poses a challenge for establishing a risk assessment framework.33”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
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Citations
Cites
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Rethinking microplastics as a diverse contaminant suite
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Self-citation
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Cited by
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Twenty years of microplastic pollution research—what have we learned?
Thompson, R. C., Courtene-Jones, W., Boucher, J., Pahl, S., Raubenheimer, K., & Koelmans, A. A. (2024) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.adl2746 · Cited by 1,521
Self-citationMayer, P. M., Moran, K. D., Miller, E. L., Brander, S. M., Harper, S., Garcia-Jaramillo, M., Carrasco-Navarro, V., Ho, K. T., Burgess, R. M., Thornton Hampton, L. M., et al. (2024) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171153 · Cited by 267
Self-citationEmergence of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment and possible impacts on aquatic organisms
Shi, C., Liu, Z., Yu, B., Zhang, Y., Yang, H., Han, Y., Wang, B., Liu, Z., & Zhang, H. (2023) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167404 · Cited by 248
Detection and characterization of microplastics and nanoplastics in biological samples
Zhao, J. L., Lan, R., Tan, H., Wang, J., Ma, Y., Chen, Q., Jiang, F., Wang, Z., & Xing, B. (2025) · Nature Reviews Bioengineering · doi:10.1038/s44222-025-00335-0 · Cited by 115
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Metadata
- Authors
- Thornton Hampton, L. M., Brander, S. M., Coffin, S., Cole, M., Hermabessiere, L., Koelmans, A. A., & Rochman, C. M.
- Affiliations
- Oregon State University (US)
- State of California (US)
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory (GB)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Venue
- Microplastics and Nanoplastics
- Published
- 2022-08-06
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2662-4966 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4290091001
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 92
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 7.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Microplastics and Nanoplastics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- Marine Biological Association (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- California State Water Resources Control Board
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/V007351/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- microplastics, particle size, particle properties, aquatic toxicity, hazard characterization, mass concentration, surface area, risk assessment, expert panel consensus
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