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Degradation of floor finishing materials owing to continuous gait: A comprehensive study on the generation and impact of microplastics
Summary
Researchers found that everyday walking on floor finishing materials generates microplastics through surface degradation, with carpet tiles producing the highest levels and marmoleum flooring the lowest. They identified the specific mechanisms by which foot traffic breaks down floor surfaces into microplastic particles and conducted a health risk assessment of the resulting exposure. The study suggests that choosing flooring materials like marmoleum over carpet tiles could meaningfully reduce indoor microplastic exposure.
With the increasing concern regarding the effects of microplastics (MPs) on human health, it is essential to conduct research on the MPs generated in the atmosphere and on those occurring in indoor environments. One of the causes of particle generation in indoor spaces is the degradation of floor finishing materials, including human gait factor. Therefore, gait simulation experiments were conducted to verify the occurrence of MPs during the gait process. After the experiments, the concentrations of MPs were calculated, and the differences in the concentrations under various gait and floor finishing material conditions were analyzed. Moreover, the morphological analysis of MPs indicates the mechanisms of MPs generation. Additionally, a chemical bond analysis of MPs and surface analysis of floor finishing materials demonstrated the types and sources of MPs generation. Furthermore, the health risk assessment results showed that the health effect of MPs was the lowest in the case of marmoleum flooring, approximately 1.27 and 5.77 times lower than that of laminate flooring and carpet tiles, respectively. Consequently, the study demonstrated that MPs are generated owing to the surface degradation caused by gait and also provided insights into which floor finishing material is least affected by MPs.
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