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Microplastics in air: a hidden public health threat
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This short review explains how microplastics become airborne from land, ocean, and industrial sources and are transported globally through the atmosphere, potentially entering the human body through inhalation. The author frames airborne microplastics as a hidden public health threat warranting greater scientific and regulatory attention.
Since the 1950s, there has been a huge increase in the production and use of plastic with the effect of modernization and industrialization. Annual plastic production has exceeded 350 million tonnes and the total amount of plastic produced has exceeded 9 billion tonnes. Although some of the plastics produced are still in use, a significant portion of them are discharged to landfills, or to various ecosystems because of some unconscious consumers. At macro level, plastic waste is decomposed into particles with a particle size of less than 5 mm with the help of external factors. These particles are called microplastics. Studies show that it is possible to find microplastics on land, in the oceans, in our food, and even in the air. This short review paper aims to inform the public about microplastics in the air, which is a potential public health threat.
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Microplastics as an Emerging Source of Particulate Air Pollution
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This review examines the growing body of research on airborne microplastics as a source of particulate air pollution, covering their sources, transport mechanisms, and presence in both indoor and outdoor environments. Researchers highlight that airborne microplastics can travel long distances and have been found in remote locations far from population centers. The study underscores significant gaps in our understanding of how inhaling these tiny plastic particles may affect human health.
Airborne microplastics: Emerging threats and health implications for humans
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This review synthesizes research on airborne microplastics as emerging human health hazards, covering their sources, atmospheric transport, inhalation and ingestion exposure pathways, and evidence of toxicological impacts on the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.
The Pollution of Atmospheric Microplastics and Their Potential Risks to Humans
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This review summarizes what is known about airborne microplastics—tiny plastic particles floating in the air we breathe—including their sources, distribution, and potential health risks. Fibers are the most common form found in air, and inhalation is an important but underestimated route of human microplastic exposure.
Atmospheric microplastics: exposure, toxicity, and detrimental health effects
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This review summarizes what is known about microplastics in the air, including their sources, how they travel, and their effects on human health when inhaled or swallowed. Airborne microplastics come from synthetic textiles, road dust, construction materials, and industrial processes, and can trigger inflammation and oxidative stress in the lungs and other organs. The authors conclude that atmospheric microplastics represent an underappreciated route of human exposure that deserves more research and regulation.
An Introduction of Airborne Microplastics in Indoor and Outdoor Environments
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Tiny plastic bits called microplastics are floating in the air we breathe, both indoors and outdoors, mostly from everyday human activities. This review pulls together what scientists currently know about where these particles come from, how they travel, and how we might be exposed to them. The health risks are still being studied, but understanding this exposure matters since we're breathing these particles in daily, often without realizing it.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.