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Atmospheric microplastic fallout in outdoor and indoor environments in São Paulo megacity

The Science of The Total Environment 2022 138 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 60 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Hélio Wiebeck, Hélio Wiebeck, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Hélio Wiebeck, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Hélio Wiebeck, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Luciana dos Santos Galvão, Thaís Mauad Hélio Wiebeck, Thaís Mauad Thaís Mauad Thaís Mauad Hélio Wiebeck, Hélio Wiebeck, Thaís Mauad Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Regiani Carvalho-Oliveira, Thaís Mauad Thaís Mauad

Summary

Researchers measured microplastic fallout in both outdoor and indoor environments across the megacity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and found that indoor environments had significantly higher microplastic deposition rates than outdoor locations. Fibers from synthetic textiles were the most common type of airborne microplastic detected. The study highlights that people living in densely populated cities may face substantial microplastic exposure simply from the air they breathe indoors.

Polymers

PE PET PP

Plastics are widely used by society, and their degradation into millimetre fragments, called microplastics (MPs), has become a global environmental threat to ecosystems and human health. However, airborne MPs' presence and fallout fluxes from the atmosphere are poorly understood and can vary significantly by different conditions, especially in megacities of low- and middle-income countries, where high levels of vehicular air pollution, a high-density population, high plastic use, and inadequate disposal are environmental threats related to airborne MPs. In this study, we investigate the amount, chemical composition, and morphological characteristics of outdoor and indoor airborne MPs fallout in the megacity of São Paulo and assess the influence of weather and seasons on airborne MPs fallout. The results were as follows: MPs were found in all samples with an average fallout rate of 309.40 ± 214.71 MPs/m/day in the indoor environment, and 123.20 ± 47.09 MPs/m/day in the outdoor environment; MPs concentrations were higher in the indoor environment than the outdoor environment, with more fibres than particles; polyester fibres (100%), polyethylene (59%) and polypropylene (26%) particles were the dominant polymers indoors, while in outdoors, polyester fibres (76%) and polyethylene (67%) and polyethylene terephthalate (25%) particles were dominant. Fragment was the dominant morphology of particles found in indoor and outdoor samples (64% and 74%, respectively). Outdoor MPs fallout correlated positively with rainfall, wind velocity, and relative humidity. This evidence is the first on airborne MPs in a Latin America megacity and highlights the relevant role that this source plays in different environments.

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