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Plastic breath: Quantification of microplastics and polymer additives in airborne particles
Summary
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.
The widespread extensive use of synthetic polymers has led to a substantial environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution, with microplastics detected in various environments and posing risks to both human health and ecosystems. The possibility of plastic fragments to be dispersed in the air as particles and inhaled by humans may cause damage to the respiratory and other body 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-mass spectrometry, and gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify and quantify both microplastics and their additives in airborne particulate matter and settled dust within a workplace environment: a WEEE treatment plant. Using this combined approach, we were able to accurately quantify ten synthetic polymers and eight classes of polymer additives. The identified additives include phthalates, adipates, citrates, sebacates, trimellitates, benzoates, organophosphates, and newly developed brominated flame retardants.