Microplastics in the Atmosphere

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a rising concern due to the overexploitation of plastics and absence of systematic dumping of plastic residue. The size of plastic particles ranging below 5 mm are termed as microplastics. Initial investigations focused on the effects of microplastic pollutants on marine as well as terrestrial ecosystems; however, recent studies have drawn attention to their presence in the atmosphere. The existence of fragmented plastics in the air was first reported in 2016, and thereafter, they were reported to be found in multiple studies conducted various environments, both indoor and outdoor conditions. The deficiency of data and lack of knowledge about their presence can be accredited to their prompt and long-range transport, which is aided by their smaller size. The current challenges with dearth of standard sampling procedures and detection approaches have limited the number of studies on airborne microplastic pollutants. Therefore, there exist large gaps in knowledge about their occurrence, horizontal and vertical distribution and their impact on air quality, ecosystem and human life. This chapter attempts to provide a broad illustration of current state of knowledge regarding atmospheric microplastics. In this chapter, we have attempted to provide an insight into microplastics in the atmosphere, its sources, types, transport pathways and an overview of the present measurement techniques along with its impacts.