Common laboratory reagents: Are they a double-edged sword in microplastics research?

Understanding and communicating instances of microplastic contamination is critical for enabling plastic-free transitions. While microplastics research uses a variety of commercial chemicals and laboratory liquids, the impact of microplastics on these materials remains unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, the current study investigated microplastics abundance and their characteristics in laboratory waters (distilled, deionized, and Milli-Q), salts (NaCl and CaCl), chemical solutions (HO, KOH and NaOH), and ethanol from various research laboratories and commercial brands.

First evidence of microplastic contamination in ready-to-use packaged food ice cubes.

Concern over microplastics has grown tremendously, and they have been found in all environmental compartments; yet, much remains unknown regarding their impact on a variety of human-consuming food products. Here, we contribute to ongoing research by screening the 15 most popular commercial brands of packaged food ice cubes in Mexico City for microplastics. Microplastics were detected in 100% of the samples evaluated, with concentrations ranging from 19 ± 4 to 178 ± 78 L.

Human exposure to microplastics from urban decentralized pay-to-fetch drinking-water refill kiosks.

Microplastics in the human diet have become a worldwide concern. To date, microplastics in urban drinking water supplies, such as decentralized drinking-water refill kiosks, have not been studied and are a pressing concern since they are so closely tied to human life and have a significant influence on health. This study evaluated the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in 63 drinking water samples collected from decentralized refill kiosks in the Mexico City metropolitan area.

Free, but not microplastic-free, drinking water from outdoor refill kiosks: A challenge and a wake-up call for urban management.

Free refill drinking water kiosks are an essential sustainable water supply system for people in metropolitan areas worldwide. Despite their importance in urban settings, the impact of microplastic contamination remains elusive. Here, we investigated the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in drinking-water samples collected from 22 self-distributed refill kiosks located in 14 multiuse urban parks spread across nine municipalities in Mexico City (Mexico).

Surface water quality in the upstream of the highly contaminated Santiago River (Mexico) during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Unlabelled: The Santiago River (Jalisco) is a major waterway in western Mexico and has received considerable attention due to its severe pollution. Understanding the impact of reduced human activity on water quality in the Santiago River during the COVID-19 lockdown (April-May 2020) is critical for river management and restoration. However, there has been no published study in this context, presenting a significant knowledge gap.

Impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality and its association with human mortality trends in megapolis Mexico City.

Mexico City is the second most populated city in Latin America, and it went through two partial lockdowns between April 1 and May 31, 2020, for reducing the COVID-19 propagation. The present study assessed air quality and its association with human mortality rates during the lockdown by estimating changes observed in air pollutants (CO, NO, O, SO, PM and PM) between the lockdown (April 1-May 31) and prelockdown (January 1-March 31) periods, as well as by comparing the air quality data of lockdown period with the same interval of previous 5 years (2015-2019). Concentrations of NO (- 29%), SO (- 55%) and PM (- 11%) declined and the contents of CO (+ 1.

Toward a unified framework for investigating micro(nano)plastics in packaged beverages intended for human consumption.

The continuously increasing presence of micro- and nanoplastics contamination in numerous food products for human consumption is threatening and their potential health effects towards humans remain uncertain. At present, investigations on packaged beverages (e.g.

Review of current trends, advances and analytical challenges for microplastics contamination in Latin America.

Microplastics accumulation is an emerging environmental issue and a threat to marine life and human health. There is a growing number of investigations on the abundance and distribution of microplastics in different water bodies and biota worldwide, with relatively few studies conducted in Latin America, however, the current knowledge of microplastics sources, occurrence, transport, fate and potential impacts remains largely unexplored. This review presents the current trends and advances of microplastics on a lesser known region of the world by compiling the research performed to date in different environmental compartments.

Identification and characterization of single use oxo/biodegradable plastics from Mexico City, Mexico: Is the advertised labeling useful?

The compositional characterization of single-use plastics (SUPs), often advertised as biodegradable (B) and oxo-biodegradable (OB), is an important step towards plastic pollution mitigation through the formulation of appropriate (re) use and disposal strategies. We present here the very first study to screen daily SUPs in Mexico through comprehensive characterizations of 33 randomly collected samples (B and OB) of high consumption, with or without food contact, from the markets (n = 80), bakeries (n = 5), pharmacies (n = 5) and near public transportation systems (n = 2) across 16 municipalities of Mexico City, using the polymer composition, metal contents and thermal properties. These SUPs are composed of 85% high-density polyethylene and 15% low-density polyethylene, with significant inorganic additives, and all of them show variable thermal degradation behavior.

An overview of recent advances in micro/nano beads and microfibers research: Critical assessment and promoting the less known.

Uptake and toxicity of microplastics (<5 mm) on organisms has merited substantial attention from scientific and research communities. Micro- (1-5000 μm) and nano- (<1 μm) beads have been recognized as promising polymeric particles globally to assess risks for organisms after ingestion. Microfibers (<5 mm) are abundant worldwide, but studies demonstrating their impacts on organisms are only emerging and remain poorly understood.

First study of its kind on the microplastic contamination of soft drinks, cold tea and energy drinks - Future research and environmental considerations.

Investigating wide range of food products of direct human consumption for microplastics is critical to understand the routes of contamination and assess the risks in microplastics uptake by humans. However, microplastics knowledge for many beverage products excluding beers is still lacking. Here, common beverages (n = 57; 27 brands) such as soft drinks (n = 19), energy drinks (n = 8), cold tea (n = 4) and beer (n = 26) were targeted for microplastics occurrences in Mexico and their shape, size, surface morphology and polymer composition were analyzed.

Branded milks - Are they immune from microplastics contamination?

The widespread dispersal of microplastic (plastic particle <5 mm) contamination in human food chain is gaining more attention in the public arena and scientific community. Better assessment of diversified consumer products is a key for combating problems related to microplastic contamination. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted on dairy milk products, and the current research status of microplastics is lacking.