Monitoring of Microplastics and Styrene Oligomers in the Atmosphere

Objectives:Plastic pollution is a very important environmental issue. The objective of this study is to monitor microplastics and styrene oligomers (SOs) as artificial chemical species that can be derived from polystyrene (PS) plastics. Methods:In order to achieve the above objective, this study collected atmospheric samples from the air of Gwangju City and Jeju Island and analyzed the concentrations of microplastics and SOs chemical species using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). In this study, a stainless steel filter was used for the sampling of microplastics and SOs species.Results and Discussion:In 2019, the average concentration of SOs in the atmosphere of Gwangju City was 0.24 (± 0.56) µg/m3, and in 2020, the average concentration of SOs in Gwangju City was 0.10 (± 0.16)µg/m3. Those average concentration in Jeju Island in 2020 was monitored to be 0.11 (± 0.07) µg/m3. Moreover, the concentration of microplastics present in the atmosphere of Gwangju City and Jeju Island in 2020 ranged from 0.13 particles/m3 to 1.13 particles/m3. In this time, 9 types of microplastics were detected, and the most frequently detected microplastics were polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and acrylate materials. The monitored microplastic shapes were both fibers and fragments, suggesting that atmospheric microplastics are mainly released from fibers or caused by friction and breakage. Consequently, SOs and microplastics can be new pollution indicators for evaluating air quality. Conclusion:This study is the first attempt to monitor SOs compounds and microplastics, so it is expected to contribute to the evaluation of the extent of plastic pollution.