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The Pollution of Atmospheric Microplastics and Their Potential Risks to Humans
Summary
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.
Abstract As an emerging environmental pollutant, microplastics have widely existed in the global environment. Not like water and soils, the cognition of airbone microplastics is limited. Studies have shown that fiber is the main form of airbone microplastics. For humans, due to the small size of microplastics, microplastics in the atmosphere are easily brought into the human respiratory system through breathing, posing potential risks to human health. This article reviews the characteristics of microplastics in the atmosphere, the transmission routes, and the potential hazards to humans. The characteristics and sources of atmospheric microplastics are investigated, and the airborne transmission path and deposition rules of atmospheric microplastics are summarized. Future research should focuse on on small-size atmospheric microplastics, which are smaller in size and more biologically toxic. The abundance of atmospheric microplastics need to be expressed in a global unified standard manner to increase feasibility in comparison of research works. Future research should explore the effects of plastics on the composition, structure and functions of terrestrial biota.
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