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Humans are potentially exposed to microplastics through food, drink, and air. The first two pathways have received quite some scientific attention, while little is known about the latter. We address the exposure of humans to indoor airborne microplastics using a Breathing Thermal Manikin. Three apartments were investigated, and samples analysed through FPA-µFTIR-Imaging spectroscopy followed by automatic analyses down to 11 µm particle size. All samples were contaminated with microplastics, with concentrations between 1.7 and 16.2 particles m −3 . Synthetic fragments and fibres accounted, on average, for 4% of the total identified particles, while nonsynthetic particles of protein and cellulose constituted 91% and 4%, respectively. Polyester was the predominant synthetic polymer in all samples (81%), followed by polyethylene (5%), and nylon (3%). Microplastics were typically of smaller size than nonsynthetic particles. As the identified microplastics can be inhaled, these results highlight the potential direct human exposure to microplastic contamination via indoor air.

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In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a disc filter that retains microplastic (MP) particles from treated wastewater. A focal plane array-based Fourier transform infrared imaging technique enabled MP quantification and an in-house-built software (MPhunter) facilitated automatic analysis of the obtained infrared spectra. The disc filter retained 89.7% of particles, and 75.6% of their mass. This removal efficiency is comparable to removal rates reported by previous studies. However, the presence of an unexpectedly large number of MP particles whose size substantially exceeded the pore size of the disc filter suggests that particles could either bypass or pass through the filter mesh, somewhat diminishing the performance of the filter. The concentration of MPs in the effluent was 3 MP/L, corresponding to an estimated mass concentration of 0.31 µg/L. The annual MP discharge from the studied WWTP after the disc filter was estimated to be 1.1 kg in 2017. It was hence not a significant contributor to MP emissions in Denmark. Although the operation of the disc filter seems to have been disturbed, it nonetheless achieved a high MP removal rate. Therefore, we conclude that it is a suitable technology to decrease the concentration of discharged MPs in wastewater effluents.

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