MICROPLASTICS IN THE MOUNT TERMINILLO SNOW’S (RIETI, ITALY)

Abstract Microplastics (MPs) concentrations in atmospheric fallout is a growing environmental concern, this paper reports data regarding the MPs pollution determined using snow samples collected in wintertime and in 6 different areas on Mount Terminillo (2216 m a.s.l.) a typical Apennines massif located north of Rome. Assessment results show that the maximum average concentration found un snow is 74.69 MPsL -1 of melted snow. The results of the characterization show that the most common MPs form was microfibers having dimensions <5mm. The largest MPs were characterized by Fourier Transformed IR (FTIR) analysis, among the polymer materials, the most abundant were polyamide (PA, 25.93%), polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 22,23%), polyester (PES, 17.28%) polypropylene (PP, 8.64%) and polyethylene (PE, 7.40%). The presence of PTFE fibers and a fragment of ABS, typical materials of technical clothing, shows that MPs contamination is also due to recreational activities as well as atmospheric deposits. The Carbonyl Index values indicated that some MPs (PE, PP) are degraded.