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Tracking of microplastics distribution patterns and their characterisation in deposited road dust from Dhaka city, Bangladesh
Summary
Researchers measured microplastic contamination in road dust across Dhaka, Bangladesh, finding thousands of particles per kilogram in samples from different road types and locations. Larger dust particles contained more microplastics, with fibers and fragments being the most common shapes, primarily made of polyethylene and polystyrene. Since road dust is kicked up into the air by traffic, these microplastics can be inhaled by pedestrians and residents, creating a direct exposure pathway for human health.
The widespread presence of microplastics (MPs) in road dust has considerable concern regarding their potential risks to ecosystems and human health. Despite the massive production of plastic, the erudition of MPs distribution patterns in various sizes of deposited road dust is still limited around the globe. Thus, the aim of this research is to provide an unambiguous picture of MPs distributional pattern, identification, classification, quantification, and features from road dust in various zones and types of roadways in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study examined MPs in road dust samples with particle sizes ranging from 300-150 μm (Group-A), 149-75 μm (Group-B), and < 75 μm (Group-C). This work extracted MPs from road dust using 30% H2O2, 1.6 g/cm3 ZnCl2, and 0.45 μm filter paper. A fluorescent microscope (Motic B410E, Germany), Motic Pictures, and 3.0 ML software were utilized to identify MPs visually. Additionally, FTIR and SEM were utilized to determine the chemical composition of MPs. Group-A Road dust samples had a significantly higher concentration of MPs (38945 items/kg) compared to Group-B and <75 μm Group-C dust (16720 and 5945 items/kg, respectively). The distribution hierarchy for total MPs on average by location and type of road is as follows: paved road (355 items/5g) > unpaved road (325 items/5g) > soil samples (294 items/5g), roadside dust samples (284 items/5g), and mid-road (283 items/5g). By taking into account all sizes of road dust samples, the MPs were classified as fiber (70.26%), fragment (26.12%), beads (0.66%), films (1.32%), and foams (1.58%). It was found that adults inhaled MPs an average of 1612 items/day, while they ingested an average of 880 items/day. Children had an inhalation rate of 1232 items/day and an ingestion rate of 10267 items/day, which was 4-17 times greater than in other countries. This study identified 22 MPs polymer types, and SEM results show that MPs surfaces are being weathered into nanoplastics, creating a more hazardous environment.
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