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Plastic breath: Quantification of microplastics and polymer additives in airborne particles
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Researchers quantified microplastics and polymer additives in airborne samples to assess inhalation exposure, finding synthetic particles across multiple size fractions in outdoor air. The study highlights airborne microplastics as a significant and often underestimated route of human plastic exposure.
The widespread use of synthetic polymers has led to a significant environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution, with microplastics being found in various environments and posing risks to both human health and the ecosystems. The potential for plastic fragments to disperse in the air as particulate and to be inhaled by humans, potentially causes harm to the respiratory and other systems. Therefore, there is a particular need to study microplastics as air pollutants. In this study, we tested a combination of analytical pyrolysis, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry, as well as gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, to identify and quantify both microplastics and their additives in airborne particulate matter and settled dust from two work environments. By using this combined approach, we were able to accurately quantify ten distinct synthetic polymers as well as eight classes of polymer additives. The determined additives include phthalate esters, adipates, citrates, sebacates, trimellitates, benzoates, organophosphates, and newly developed brominated flame retardants. This study received funding from the European Union - Next-GenerationEU - National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) – MISSION 4 COMPONENT 2, INVESTIMENT N. 1.1, CALL PRIN 2022 D.D. 104 02-02-2022 – DIORAMA (A deep dive into the study of microplastics in aqueous matrices) Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/557006/document
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Plastic breath: Quantification of microplastics and polymer additives in airborne particles
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This study quantified microplastics and plastic polymer additives in airborne particulate matter collected from indoor and outdoor environments, characterizing the contribution of plastic particles to inhalation exposure. Microplastics and associated additives were detected in breathable air, supporting inhalation as a significant route of human plastic exposure.
Plastic breath: Quantification of microplastics and polymer additives in airborne particles
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Researchers measured microplastics and their chemical additives in airborne dust at an electronics recycling plant, identifying ten different plastic types and eight classes of additives including flame retardants and phthalates. The findings confirm that people can inhale microplastics along with potentially harmful chemicals at work, raising concerns about respiratory and overall health risks from airborne plastic pollution.
Study of suspended microplastics in indoor air to assess human exposure through inhalation
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Researchers investigated suspended microplastics in indoor air to assess the extent of human exposure through inhalation. The study quantified airborne microplastic particles in indoor settings, providing data on a potentially important but understudied route of daily microplastic intake for the general population.
Characterization of the Morphological and Chemical Profile of Different Families of Microplastics in Samples of Breathable Air
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Researchers characterized the morphological and chemical profiles of airborne microplastics collected from breathable air samples, finding diverse polymer types and particle shapes and examining how these particles are transported through the atmosphere to the air people breathe.
First overview of microplastics in indoor and outdoor air
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This study provided one of the first comprehensive overviews of microplastic contamination in both indoor and outdoor air, establishing that microplastics are airborne and that indoor environments may have higher concentrations than outdoors due to synthetic materials and textiles. The findings raised new concerns about inhalation as a pathway for human microplastic exposure.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.