Distribution, Potential Sources, and Health Risk of Microplastics (MPs) in Street Dust during and after COVID-19 Lockdown in Bangladesh

Abstract

The advent of the COVID-19 era has ushered in significant changes to both the environment and daily life. During the COVID-19 lockdown, a unique opportunity emerged to improve environmental quality and mitigate certain impacts on the planet. The distribution and health risks of microplastics (MPs) in the street dust of Dhaka city, Bangladesh during and after COVID-19 lockdowns were examined in this study. The study covered sites selected based on land usage, including an industrial area (IA), commercial area (CA), public facilities area (PFA), and residential area (RA). The particles in the dust samples were analyzed using a fluorescent microscope and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the maximum number of MP particles/g of street dust sample was recorded from industrial areas (17.33 MP particles/g) and the minimum was recorded from residential areas (13.99 MP particles/g) without lockdown. The trends in the MPs were as follows: without lockdown > partial lockdown > complete lockdown. Risk analysis showed that the MPs in dust pose low non-carcinogenic risk to inhabitants of the study area and across lockdown periods. Principal component analysis showed that during the partial lockdown period, comparable sources were detected for the cellulose/low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polychloroprene (PCP)/polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polypropylene (PP)/polyacrylamide (PAA)/nylon, and polyethylene (PE)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/fiber groups of MPs, but various sources were discovered during the complete and without lockdown periods. The results further showed that all MP types would pose no non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic risks in dust from all land-use areas. However, the highest risks were obtained from inhaling dust. The study shows that human activities have a significant impact on the generation and distribution of MPs in the environment. The changes in MP type distribution during lockdown suggest that reducing human activities, such as traffic and industrial activity, can lead to a decrease in the quantity of MPs generated and released into the environment.

Microplastic Contamination of Non-Mulched Agricultural Soils in Bangladesh: Detection, Characterization, Source Apportionment and Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment

“…The prevalence of high-risk MPs in agricultural soils poses a potential health hazard for the farming community. These results align with the findings of [ 58 ], who reported low health risks of MPs in dust in Dhaka city, Bangladesh.…”

“…This risk assessment was based on detected microplastics in agricultural soil. Similar findings were reported by [ 58 ], who also observed cancer risk values lower than acceptable limits. It underscores the importance of comprehensive and detailed investigations to gather more consistent data for managing microplastic sources in agricultural soil and mitigating further contamination.…”

The Plastic Within: Microplastics Invading Human Organs and Bodily Fluids Systems

“…MPs have been found in a wide range of environments, including freshwater [6][7][8], seawater [9,10], sediment [11,12], soil [13,14], street dust [15], air [16,17], and even consumables such as beer, sea salt, and tap water [18]. Due to the significant deposits of MPs, the modern era has been referred to as "a new historical epoch, the Plasticene" [19].…”