ABSTRACT
Chemical pollutants can be classified in numerous ways: by intended use, by chemical structure, by environmental characteristics, by mechanism of action, or by when they were released into environment and became a known environmental issue. Microplastics and the special category of microfiber plastics are defined by their size. The first reports of plastics in the marine environment were in the 1970s but were not comprehensively investigated until the late 1990s when the focus was on entanglement of marine organisms in large plastics. Several types of plastics can be in the micro-range. Plastic resin pellets are used as feedstock for industrial production of plastic products and are known as primary microplastics; these pellets are re-melted and molded into final products. Plastic resin pellets can be released during transport, manufacture, and from plastic production facilities. There is little knowledge of effects to terrestrial plants, and there are only speculations on the potential effects to humans or terrestrial animals.
