Airborne microplastics: A review of current perspectives and environmental implications

Shao, Longyi; Li, Yaowei; Jones, Tim; Santosh, M.; Zhang, Mengyuan; Li, Xu; Li, Weijun; Lu, Jiwen; Yang, Cheng‐Xue; Zhang, Daizhou; Feng, Xiaolei; Bérubé, Kelly Ann

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131048

Cited by 62 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 167 publications

(288 reference statements)

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“…Nevertheless, at the control site, we estimated a deposition of 21–43 mf/m 2 /d, which is similar to the 15–32 mf/m 2 /d reported for Paris [ 36 ]. It is noteworthy that our lichen samples were exposed at 1.5–2 m from the ground, which is the height of human respiration [ 37 ]; thus, our results provide an estimate of daily MP exposure for humans. The presence of MPs in the air is a health concern as MPs can reach deep into the lungs [ 16 ] and cause inflammation [ 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lichen Biomonitoring of Airborne Microplastics in Milan (N Italy)

Jafarova

Contardo

Aherne

2022

Biology

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This study investigated the deposition of airborne microplastics (MPs) in the urban area of Milan across 12 sites and at a background control site (northern Italy) using 3-month transplants of the fruticose lichen species Evernia prunastri (exposed in triplicate). The primary objective was to evaluate the use of lichen transplants for the assessment of MP deposition; as such, the study sites spanned a gradient in vehicular traffic and population density across four concentric land-use zones (i.e., urban parks, centre, semi-periphery, and periphery). A total of 149 MP particles were detected in the exposed lichen samples; 94.6% were classified as fibres and 5.4% as fragments. The control site and urban parks experienced a similar number of MPs per gram of dry lichen (20–26 MP/g), while a higher number of MPs were detected in central and peripheral areas (44–56 MP/g), with a clear increasing gradient from the city centre towards the periphery. We estimated the MP deposition in Milan to be in the range of 43–119 MPs m2/d, indicating that people living in Milan are exposed to airborne MPs, with potential health effects. This study suggests that lichens are suitable biomonitors of airborne MPs under a relatively short exposure of three months in urban environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lichen Biomonitoring of Airborne Microplastics in Milan (N Italy)

Jafarova

Contardo

Aherne

2022

Biology

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“…[5][6][7] MNPs enter terrestrial environments including agroecosystems through multiple pathways, such as biosolid application, mulching film use, and atmospheric precipitation. [8][9][10] Because of their small size and large specific surface area, MNPs have great potential to penetrate biological surfaces, and even cross a series of barriers to enter the blood, lymphatic system, and liver, thereby exhibiting stronger biohazard relative to larger plastic fragments and posing a serious threat to humans. 11,12 Therefore, MNPs entering agroecosystems are considered to be a new threat to food security and human health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foliar uptake and in-leaf translocation of micro(nano)plastics and their interaction with epicuticular wax

Guo

Wang

Sun

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci.: Nano

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“…We compare two commonly used filters, 29 glass fiber filter (GFF, pore size 1 μm, GE Whatman, Buckinghamshire, UK) and polycarbonate filter (PC, pore size 1 μm, Merck Millipore, Milford, MA, USA), to test which kind of filter is suited for FTS-MP sampling. As the filter is deployed vertically in the FTS-MP (Figure 1b), we also tested the effect of filter orientation on sampling, namely whether vertical filter placement affects the sampling accuracy.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Flow-through Passive Sampler for Microplastics in Air

Dong

Wang

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Microplastics (MP) in air have attracted increasing attention because of their ubiquitous presence. Accurate atmospheric concentrations of MP are essential for evaluating their capacity for long-range transport and for assessing human inhalation risk. In order to sample airborne MP in locations with limited power supply, we adapted a flow-through passive sampler by placing a glass fiber filter in the inner sampling tube. To test the new sampler’s performance under field conditions, two sizes of the flow-through sampler (with diameters of 20 and 10 cm) and a conventionally pumped high-volume air sampler were co-deployed on the Lhasa campus of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research. Accurate sampling volumes could be estimated from a relationship between wind speeds recorded outside and inside of the flow-through sampler. Atmospheric concentrations and compositions of MP that compared favorably with those obtained by active sampling indicate that the larger version of the flow-through passive sampler can provide reproducible and quantitative information on atmospheric MP at sites with limited or unreliable power supply. This capability should be useful in large-scale and high-temporal resolution air monitoring networks for MP.

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Airborne microplastics: A review of current perspectives and environmental implications

Cited by 62 publications

References 167 publications

Lichen Biomonitoring of Airborne Microplastics in Milan (N Italy)

Lichen Biomonitoring of Airborne Microplastics in Milan (N Italy)

Foliar uptake and in-leaf translocation of micro(nano)plastics and their interaction with epicuticular wax

A Flow-through Passive Sampler for Microplastics in Air

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