Airborne Microplastics: A Review Study on Method for Analysis, Occurrence, Movement and Risks<strong> </strong>

Abstract

Microplastics (of size &amp;lt; 5mm) pollution in our environment is of current concern by researchers, public media and non-governmental organizations. Implications by their presence in aquatic and soil ecosystems have been well studied and documented, but less attention has been paid on airborne microplastics (MPs). Studies concerning airborne microplastics started from 2016 and only a few (n=7) have been published till date. Although, studies may increase in the following years, since air is very important for human survival. Microplastics have been observed in atmospheric fallouts in indoor and outdoor environments using a sampling or vacuum pump, rain sampler and/or particulate fallout collector. Identification and quantification have been carried out by visual, spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Factors such as meterological, climatic and anthropogenic influence the distribution and movement of airborne MP. Human exposure may be through inhalation or dermal route with their potential biopersistence and translocation. Ingestion may cause localized inflammation and cancer due to responses by the immune cells, especially in individuals with compromised metabolism and poor clearance mechanisms. Ecological risks involve possible contamination of the ecosystem through a dynamic relationship of MPs in soil, water and air forming a MP contamination cycle. The present review aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of current knowledge or information regarding microplastics in air, identifies gap in knowledge and give suggestions for future research.

Microplastic–toxic chemical interaction: a review study on quantified levels, mechanism and implication

“…Polluting plastics are biochemically inert due to their large molecule size and can potentially cause great harm to the environment. Additionally, they can persist long time in the environment and can be accumulated in open oceans, sedimentary habitats, soil and plant tissues [39,40,64,65,203].…”

“…In last 2 decade, the problem they create in the environment has caused a shift of attention by environmental analytical researchers from macroplastics pollution to microplastics. It is an emerging area of concern, and therefore, concern regarding plastic pollution has focused on sources, fate and ecological effects of microplastic particles in the environment [22,39,40,62,136].…”

“…Microplastics can be defined as plastic materials of microsize dimension (often between the range of 1 μm-5 mm) [39,40]. Their presence in the environment is on continuous increase particularly in ocean as observed by the increase in the frequency and quantity of plastic ingested by seabirds [7,23,24].…”

“…Their presence in the environment is on continuous increase particularly in ocean as observed by the increase in the frequency and quantity of plastic ingested by seabirds [7,23,24]. Furthermore, they have recently been quantified in large quantity in soil ecosystem (reviewed by [203]) and in plant tissues [39,40,95]. Microplastics were included as a priority descriptor (10; Marine Litter) in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) (Marine Litter) due to their impact in the marine environment [27].…”

“…One of the primary environmental risks associated with microplastics is that they are ubiquitous and bioavailable for injection by marine organisms [26,184], soil organisms [78,89,92,201,202] and plant growing on microplastic polluted soils [39,40]. Studies have reported their presence in sea animals such as seabirds, fish, sandhoppers, sea turtle, crustacean and mussel [12,21,45,118,162], soil invertebrates such as collembolan, oligochaeta (e.g.…”