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Spatial Determinants of Microplastic Exposure in Residential Communities Adjacent to Municipal Solid Waste Landfill: Evidence from Raman Spectroscopic Characterization and Multivariate Regression Analysis at TPA Putri Cempo, Surakarta, Indonesia
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Researchers studied urine samples from 100 residents living near a landfill in Surakarta, Indonesia. People living closer to the landfill had higher levels of microplastics in their urine, and most of the particles detected by Raman spectroscopy matched polyethylene plastic. Other factors like age, sex, and activity level showed no clear link to microplastic levels.
Microplastic (MP) contamination associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills represents an emerging environmental and public health concern, particularly for communities residing near landfill facilities. This cross-sectional study integrated epidemiological data from 100 residents living near TPA Putri Cempo, Surakarta, Indonesia, with confocal Raman spectroscopic characterization to examine spatial patterns of urinary microplastic exposure and the composition of landfill-associated microplastic fractions. Microplastic levels were quantified in first-morning urine samples using stereo microscopy and analyzed in relation to age, sex, body weight, height, educational attainment, physical activity, and residential distance from the landfill. Two-tailed Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Residential distance showed a strong inverse correlation with urinary microplastic levels (r = −0.778, p < 0.001), whereas none of the measured individual-level covariates showed statistically significant associations with the outcome. In the log-linear model, residential distance remained the only statistically significant predictor (B = −0.0013, p < 0.001), and the model explained 86.3% of the variance in ln(MP) (R² = 0.863, adjusted R² = 0.853; F(7, 92) = 82.9, p < 0.001). Raman analysis of the extracted microplastic fractions identified aliphatic C–H stretching features at approximately 2848–2850 and 2883–2930 cm⁻¹ that were most consistent with polyethylene (PE), while polypropylene remained a plausible secondary assignment. Carbonaceous, iron-oxide-related, and silicate spectral features were also observed. Because Raman acquisition parameters varied among measurement points, raw signal intensities were interpreted descriptively rather than as measures of relative polymer concentration. The findings demonstrate a strong spatial association between residential distance and urinary microplastic levels, consistent with a spatial exposure gradient, without establishing a direct causal pathway from the landfill. The results support further investigation of spatial exposure pathways and microplastic management in landfill-adjacent communities. Keywords: microplastics; landfill leachate; Raman spectroscopy; spatial exposure gradient; polyethylene; multiple linear regression; environmental epidemiology. DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.9.6
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