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Impacts and Mechanisms of Airborne Microplastics on Human Health: MPs and Their Toxicity
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This review pulls together research showing that tiny plastic particles are floating in city air, not just water, and that breathing them in may cause lung inflammation and cell damage. Despite this, air quality agencies like the WHO and EPA don't yet monitor microplastics, so the authors call for new standards to track and manage this overlooked health risk.
Abstract Airborne microplastics (MPs) have rapidly emerged as critical yet underrecognized urban atmospheric pollutants, warranting immediate scientific and policy attention. Although early investigations centered on aquatic contamination, a growing body of evidence now reveals the pervasive presence of MPs in urban air, originating from diverse anthropogenic sources. This chapter synthesizes recent findings from major global cities and highlights the mounting health concerns linked to inhaled MPs, including respiratory inflammation, oxidative stress, and broader systemic toxicity. It further examines the environmental dynamics of airborne MPs, emphasizing their interactions with co-occurring pollutants and their compounding effects on urban air quality. Despite these risks, airborne MPs remain absent from international and national air quality standards, including those of the WHO, CPCB, and USEPA. Addressing significant methodological inconsistencies, this chapter underscores the urgent need for standardized monitoring and risk-assessment frameworks. Ultimately, it argues for the incorporation of microplastic indicators into urban sustainability and SDGs aligned strategies, recognizing airborne MPs as both a growing environmental burden and a pressing public health threat.
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Inhaled Microplastics as Emerging Respiratory Toxicants: From Cellular Mechanisms to Global Health Policy
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This review pulls together a decade of research on tiny plastic particles floating in the air we breathe, finding that once inhaled, they can trigger inflammation, cell damage, and immune disruption deep in the lungs, effects linked to conditions like asthma, COPD, and even lung cancer. The risk may be even greater since these particles often carry other harmful substances like heavy metals along for the ride. That said, scientists still lack standardized ways to measure this exposure, so more consistent research is needed before we fully understand how worried we should be, but it's a good reason to pay attention to air quality and plastic pollution in daily life.
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This review analyzes the growing body of research on microplastics floating in indoor and outdoor air and their potential effects on human health. Evidence indicates that inhaled microplastics can trigger inflammatory responses and cellular damage in the lungs, liver, and reproductive system, and may carry toxic additives deeper into the body. The authors call for more interdisciplinary research to understand the long-term health implications of breathing in these tiny plastic particles.
Airborne Microplastics: Another Threatening to Our Health
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This review examines the emerging evidence on airborne microplastics, covering their sources, how they travel through the atmosphere, and how they enter the human respiratory system through inhalation. Researchers highlight potential health effects including pulmonary inflammation, oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption, with particle size influencing how deeply they penetrate into the lungs. The study calls for standardized measurement protocols and urgent interdisciplinary research to better understand the health risks of breathing in microplastic particles.
Atmospheric microplastics: exposure, toxicity, and detrimental health effects
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This review summarizes what is known about microplastics in the air, including their sources, how they travel, and their effects on human health when inhaled or swallowed. Airborne microplastics come from synthetic textiles, road dust, construction materials, and industrial processes, and can trigger inflammation and oxidative stress in the lungs and other organs. The authors conclude that atmospheric microplastics represent an underappreciated route of human exposure that deserves more research and regulation.
An emerging class of air pollutants: Potential effects of microplastics to respiratory human health?
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This review explores the emerging concern that airborne microplastics can be inhaled by humans, potentially causing adverse effects on the respiratory system. Researchers compiled available data on the concentration, size, shape, and chemical composition of microplastic particles found in urban air. The findings suggest that airborne plastic debris represents a largely understudied class of air pollutant with potential implications for human health.
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