MARTIN WAGNER, SCOTT LAMBERT (EDS.): FRESHWATER MICROPLASTICS: EMERGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS?

Book’s topic We are living in the Bplastic age Band the wealth and well-being of modern societies is depending, among others, on plastic materials. However, human mankind have used these synthetic materials so extensively that immense amounts of plastics have been emitted to natural environments. In the environment, plastics break down to smaller fragments called microplastics (MPs) with a size per definition below 5 mm. These MPs are of special concern, because the smaller our litter gets the higher the chances to be ingested by animals and to move along food webs. However, the present available analytical methods for synthetic polymers are limited down to the micrometer-range. Over the years, there is now quite some awareness of the plastic pollution of the oceans. However, most of the plastic debris has inland sources, which have been so far less addressed by science. With the HEC book, plastic pollution of freshwater ecosystems is addressed as important as the one on in the oceans and deserves our attention.