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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Mass concentrations of common microplastics and tire wear rubbers in urban air
ClearMass concentrations of common microplastics and tire wear rubbers in urban air
Researchers measured mass concentrations of common microplastics and tire wear rubber particles in ambient urban air, providing quantitative data on airborne plastic pollution that is scarce compared to research on aquatic environments. Tire wear particles were identified as a significant component of airborne plastic contamination in urban settings.
Micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) in urban air: polymer composition, interactions and inhalation risk
Researchers characterized airborne micro- and nanoplastics in urban air using pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry on size-fractionated aerosol samples. The study found total concentrations averaging 0.6 micrograms per cubic meter, with tire wear particles as a dominant source, highlighting an underestimated threat to urban air quality and human respiratory health.
Comparison of traffic-related micro- and nanoplastic concentrations at three urban locations
Researchers measured airborne tire and road wear particles (microplastics shed from vehicle tires) at a busy urban road, a highway, and a park, finding rubber particle concentrations were 2-5 times higher near traffic compared to the park, with levels closely tracking other traffic pollutants like black carbon.
Characterization of Airborne Microplastics Particles on Urban Roads: Types, Sizes, and Total Particles
Researchers collected airborne microplastic samples from urban road environments and characterized particle types, sizes, color distributions, and polymer compositions, finding tire-wear rubber and paint fragments alongside fiber and film fragments from packaging and textiles.
Plastic and rubber polymers in urban PM10 by pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Researchers developed a method to measure microplastic and rubber particles in urban air pollution (PM10) using pyrolysis and mass spectrometry. They found that plastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, and tire wear particles accounted for 1-3% of total airborne particulate matter sampled at a busy street in Helsinki. The findings confirm that people in urban areas are continuously inhaling microplastic and rubber particles from traffic and other sources.
Modelled atmospheric concentration of tyre wear in an urban environment
Researchers modeled airborne concentrations of tire wear particles — tiny plastic-containing fragments released when vehicle tires rub against road surfaces — across Stockholm, finding that these microplastic particles are widespread in cities and make up 4–6% of total air particle pollution, with concentrations highest near busy highways and in narrow street canyons.
Concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in the road environment
Researchers measured actual environmental concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in a rural highway setting, providing field-based data to complement the theoretical estimates that dominate current literature.
Microplastics in the urban atmosphere: Sources, occurrences, distribution, and potential health implications
This review summarizes research on airborne microplastics in cities, finding that indoor sources like textiles and outdoor sources like traffic-related plastic particles are major contributors. Microplastic concentrations in urban air can be significant, especially in densely populated areas, and people can inhale these particles daily. The health implications of breathing in microplastics are still being studied, but early evidence suggests they may cause lung inflammation and other respiratory problems.
Environmental occurrence, fate, impact, and potential solution of tire microplastics: Similarities and differences with tire wear particles
This review examines tire microplastics, one of the most abundant types of microplastics in the environment, which come from tire wear on roads, recycled tire rubber, and tire repair dust. These particles carry a complex mix of chemicals including heavy metals and organic pollutants that can harm aquatic and soil organisms. Since tire microplastics end up in waterways and soil near roads, they represent a significant but often overlooked source of human microplastic exposure.
Microplastics from tyre and road wear A literature review
This literature review examines microplastics generated from tire and road wear, identifying road traffic as a significant but often overlooked source of plastic pollution in urban runoff and waterways. The authors assess what is known about tire particle composition, environmental fate, and potential ecological effects.
Microplastic and tyre wear particles at a highway: a case study from Norway
Researchers monitored microplastics and tire wear particles (tiny rubber fragments shed by vehicles) in air, road runoff, and road dust along a busy Norwegian highway, finding the highest concentrations in road dust and the lowest in air. The study demonstrates that traffic is a major source of microplastic pollution across multiple environmental pathways.
Relevance of tyre wear particles to the total content of microplastics transported by runoff in a high-imperviousness and intense vehicle traffic urban area.
Researchers characterized microplastics and tire wear particles (TWPs) transported by urban stormwater runoff in a highly impervious catchment, finding that TWPs made up a substantial fraction of the total microplastic load in sediments of a stormwater detention reservoir. The study underscores the contribution of road traffic to microplastic pollution entering waterways.
A review of rubber tyre derived micro- and nanoplastics: fate, impact and risks
This systematic review examines microplastics generated from rubber tire wear, which are a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution. Tire particles spread through air, stormwater, and wastewater to contaminate both land and water. This is an important human health concern because tire-derived microplastics contain toxic chemicals and are found in the air people breathe and the water they drink.
Novel method for the characterization and quantification of rubber particles in air samples and human blood
Researchers developed a novel method to characterize and quantify rubber particles from tire and road wear in air samples, targeting natural rubber and styrene butadiene rubber. The method addresses a key gap in monitoring one of the largest sources of environmental microplastics.
The influence of road vehicle tyre wear on microplastics in a high-traffic university for sustainable transportation
Researchers examined microplastic pollution from tire wear in a high-traffic university environment. The study found that microplastic concentrations correlated with traffic patterns, peaking on weekdays and declining on weekends, with irregularly shaped black particles composed primarily of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutadiene dominating the samples, along with metal contaminants concentrated near the main entrance.
Identification, classification and quantification of microplastics in road dust and stormwater
Researchers identified and quantified microplastics in road dust and stormwater, finding significantly higher concentrations in industrial areas compared to residential zones, with tire wear particles and polyethylene fragments being the most common types.
Contribution of Road Vehicle Tyre Wear to Microplastics and Ambient Air Pollution
This review finds that tire wear from road vehicles contributes one-third to one-half of all microplastics released unintentionally into the environment, with passenger cars generating about 110 milligrams per kilometer driven. Most tire particles end up in soil, but a portion becomes airborne, contributing 5-30% of road transport particulate matter emissions. Since the smallest tire particles can be inhaled, this is a significant and often overlooked source of daily microplastic exposure for people living near roads.
Novel method for the characterization and quantification of rubber particles in air samples and human blood
This study developed a novel method to characterize and quantify tire and road wear rubber particles in environmental samples, identifying natural and synthetic rubber polymers including vulcanized styrene-butadiene rubber as the dominant components. The method advances monitoring capabilities for one of the largest sources of microplastic emissions globally.
Mechanism of microplastic and nanoplastic emission from tire wear
Scientists showed that normal tire wear produces two distinct populations of plastic particles: smaller airborne nanoplastics that stay suspended in the air, and larger microplastics that settle to the ground. Nanoplastic emissions increase dramatically with vehicle speed and weight, and electric charge keeps the smallest particles floating in the air where they can be inhaled. This research identifies tire wear as a major and previously underappreciated source of breathable nanoplastic pollution.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of synthetic polymers in ambient aerosols by Curie Point Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
Researchers used pyrolysis-based gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to detect and quantify synthetic polymers and tire wear particles in ambient urban air. The study confirmed that multiple plastic types circulate as airborne particles in cities, contributing to human inhalation exposure on a daily basis.
On airborne tire wear particles along roads with different traffic characteristics using passive sampling and optical microscopy, single particle SEM/EDX, and µ-ATR-FTIR analyses
Researchers used passive sampling and advanced analytical techniques including SEM/EDX and micro-ATR-FTIR to characterize airborne tire wear particles along roads with different traffic volumes and speeds. The study found that tire wear particles, a major category of microplastic pollution, varied in concentration and composition depending on traffic characteristics, highlighting roadways as a significant source of airborne microplastic contamination.
Tread lightly: immuno-toxicological health effects of traffic-related polymers in healthy adults.
Researchers studied the immunotoxicological effects of traffic-related micro- and nanoplastics in commuters exposed to tire wear particle emissions. Elevated exposure to airborne tire wear polymers was associated with measurable changes in immune cell profiles.
Airborne microplastics on the move: Urban Europe as a source to remote regions
Researchers measured airborne microplastics at both urban and remote sites across Norway and found that tire wear particles dominated urban air pollution, with seasonal peaks during the switch to winter tires. Microplastics were also detected at remote locations far from cities, confirming that these particles undergo long-range atmospheric transport from urban source regions across Europe.
Occurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
Researchers used active air sampling devices during a research cruise along the Norwegian coast to the Arctic to measure microplastic mass loads in the marine atmosphere, including tire wear particles, analyzed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. They found microplastics were omnipresent even in remote Arctic sampling areas, with polyethylene terephthalate ubiquitous and tire wear particles reaching up to 35 ng/m3, and atmospheric transport models indicating both sea-based and land-based emission sources.