The worldwide contamination of waters by microplastics is an emerging health and environmental issue. Despite being relatively inert, microplastics may adsorb and carry other aquatic pollutants such as heavy metals. Adsorption of heavy metals onto microplastics is a spontaneous process controlled by the microplastic surface. Marine microplastics have been well discussed, yet there are actually a few reviews on microplastics in freshwater. Here, we review microplastic contamination in freshwater systems with focus on adsorption of heavy metals. We present microplastic abundance, distribution, impact of microplastic size, affinity for heavy metals and combined toxic effects of the co-occurrence of microplastic and heavy metals. Remarkably, the concentration of metals on polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride was 800 times higher than in the surrounding environment. Combined toxic effects include endocrine disrupting and reduced predatory behavior of aquatic carnivores.

全世界范围内由微塑料污染的水是一个新兴的健康和环境问题。尽管相对惰性，但微塑料可能吸附并携带其他水生污染物，例如重金属。重金属到微塑料上的吸附是由微塑料表面控制的自发过程。海洋微塑料已经进行了充分的讨论，但实际上有一些关于淡水中微塑料的评论。在这里，我们回顾了淡水系统中的微塑性污染，重点是重金属的吸附。我们介绍了微塑料的丰度，分布，微塑料尺寸的影响，对重金属的亲和力以及微塑料和重金属共存的综合毒性作用。值得注意的是 聚苯乙烯和聚氯乙烯中的金属浓度比周围环境高800倍。组合的毒性作用包括内分泌干扰和减少水生食肉动物的掠食行为。