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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
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Airborne microplastics in indoor and outdoor environments of a coastal city in Eastern China
Journal of Hazardous Materials2021
385 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 65
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Xuan Zhu,
Zhonglu Liao,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Xu Shang
Mingzhu Fang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Mingzhu Fang,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Yuan Ma,
Xu Shang
Yuan Ma,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Mingzhu Fang,
Wei Huang,
Mingzhu Fang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Baoqiang Lv,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Xuan Zhu,
Baoqiang Lv,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Wei Huang,
Zhonglu Liao,
Zhonglu Liao,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Wei Huang,
Xiaoliang Ji,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xuan Zhu,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Mingzhu Fang,
Mingzhu Fang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Yuan Ma,
Yuan Ma,
Qi Wang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xuedong Wang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xu Shang
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xu Shang
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xu Shang
Xuedong Wang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xu Shang
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xu Shang
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Randy A. Dahlgren,
Xu Shang
Wei Huang,
Wei Huang,
Xu Shang
Xu Shang
Xu Shang
Xu Shang
Summary
Researchers measured airborne microplastic levels in both indoor and outdoor environments in a Chinese coastal city and found that indoor air contained about eight times more microplastics than outdoor air. Fragments smaller than 100 micrometers were the most common type, and urban areas had higher levels than rural areas. The study estimates that a person's annual exposure to airborne microplastics could reach over one million particles, with most exposure occurring indoors where people spend the majority of their time.
Microplastics (MPs) in marine and terrestrial environments have been intensively studied, but the dynamics of airborne MPs remains limited. Existing studies on atmospheric MPs are mostly derived from collection of atmospheric deposition, whereas direct measurements of airborne MPs are scarce. However, the abundance of airborne MPs is more relevant for evaluating human inhalation exposure risk. Herein, airborne MPs in indoor and outdoor environments from urban and rural areas of a coastal city in eastern China were investigated. MP concentrations (mean±SD) in indoor air (1583 ± 1180 n/m) were an order of magnitude higher than outdoor air (189 ± 85 n/m), and airborne MP concentrations in urban areas (224 ± 70 n/m) were higher than rural areas (101 ± 47 n/m). MPs smaller than 100 µm dominated airborne MPs, and the predominant shape of airborne MPs was fragments, as opposed to fibers. The larger MP size fractions contained a higher proportion of fibers, whereas the smaller size fractions were nearly exclusively composed of fragments. The health risk caused by ubiquitous airborne MPs should not be discounted as the maximum annual outdoor exposure of airborne MPs can reach 1 million/year, while indoor exposure may be even higher due to higher indoor airborne MP concentrations.