Quantitation of Atmospheric Suspended Polystyrene Nanoplastics by Active Sampling Prior to Pyrolysis–Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Plastic has been demonstrated to release nanoplastics (NPs) into the atmosphere under sunlight irradiation, posing a continuous health risk to the respiratory system. However, due to lack of reliable quantification methods, the occurrence and distribution of NPs in the atmosphere remain unclear. Polystyrene (PS) micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) represent a crucial component of atmospheric MNPs. In this study, we proposed a simple and robust method for determining the concentration of atmospheric PS NPs using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Following active sampling, the filter membrane is directly ground and introduced into the Py-GC/MS system to quantify PS NPs. The proposed method demonstrates excellent reproducibility and high sensitivity, with a detection limit as low as down to 15 pg/m³ for PS NPs. By using this method, the occurrence of PS NPs in both indoor and outdoor atmospheres has been confirmed. Furthermore, the results showed that the abundance of outdoor PS NPs was significantly higher than that of indoor samples, and there was no significant difference in NP vertical distribution within a height of 28.6 m. This method can be applied for the routine monitoring of atmospheric PS NPs and for evaluating their risk to human health.