Microplastic abundance and distribution in a Central Asian desert

Wang, Feng; Lai, Zhongping; Peng, Guyu; Luo, Lan; Liu, Kai; Huang, Xiaosan; Xu, Yantian; Shen, Qinjing; Li, Daoji

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149529

Cited by 55 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…According to the Worldwatch Institute, about 10 to 20 million tons of plastic enters aquatic ecosystems every year, exposing a global issue that affects all ecosystems and consequently the complete food chain [5,9]. MPs pollution has now been found in the most remote places on Earth, from Antarctic's snow [34] to central Asian deserts [35] and lagoons of French Polynesia [36]. Moreover, these particles can be found in everyday life such as in bottled water, air and our own bodies [37][38][39][40][41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pro-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human and Murine Intestinal Cell Lines

et al. 2023

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Plastic is a polymer extremely resistant to degradation that can remain for up to hundreds or thousands of years, leading to the accumulation of massive amounts of plastic waste throughout the planet’s ecosystems. Due to exposure to various environmental factors, plastic breaks down into smaller particles named microplastics (1–5000 μm) and nanoplastics (<1 μm). Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants but, still, little is known about their effects on human and animal health. Herein, our aim is to investigate cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and correlated gene modulation following exposure to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in HRT-18 and CMT-93 epithelial cell lines. After 6, 24 and 48 h PS-MPs treatment, cell viability (MTT) and oxidative stress (SOD) assays were performed; subsequently, expression changes and cytokines release were investigated by Real-Time PCR and Magnetic-beads panel Multiplex Assay, respectively. For each exposure time, a significantly increased cytotoxicity was observed in both cell lines, whereas SOD activity increased only in CMT-93 cells. Furthermore, Magnetic-beads Multiplex Assay revealed an increased release of IL-8 in HRT-18 cells’ medium, also confirmed by gene expression analysis. Results obtained suggest the presence of a pro-inflammatory pattern induced by PS-MPs treatment that could be related to the observed increase in cytotoxicity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pro-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human and Murine Intestinal Cell Lines

et al. 2023

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“…The researchers found that the average MP abundance was 6.0 ± 15.4 items/kg in the Baden Jaran Desert, with 8.2 ± 17.9 items/kg on the edge of the desert where tourism activity occurs, which was much higher than the 0.9 ± 1.6 items/kg in non-tourist areas, indicating the potential contribution of tourism [ 36 ]. Due to the influence of human activities, the MP distribution along the desert road was uneven in the Taklamakan Desert and the abundance levels of MPs in the sand fixation and garbage disposal sites were much higher than in other sampling sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Contamination in Urban, Farmland and Desert Environments along a Highway in Southern Xinjiang, China

Wang

Wufuer

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The different types of microplastics (MPs), including debris, fibers, particles, foams, films and others, have become a global environmental problem. However, there is still a lack of research and understanding of the pollution characteristics and main causes of MPs in the arid region of Xinjiang, China. In this survey, we focused on the occurrence and distribution of MPs in urban, farmland and desert areas along a highway in the survey area. Our results showed that the main types of MPs were polypropylene (PP) flakes, polyethylene (PE) films and both PE and PP fragments and fibers. The abundance levels of MPs in street dust of Korla, Alar and Hotan districts equaled 804, 307 and 1526 particles kg−1, respectively, and were positively correlated with the urban population. In farmland areas, there were only two types of MPs (films and fibers), of which the film particles dominated and accounted for 91% of the total on the average. The highest abundance rate of MPs reached 7292 particles kg−1 in the desert area along the highway. The minimum microplastic particle sizes were 51.8 ± 2.2 μm in urban street dust samples, 54.2 ± 5.3 μm in farmland soil samples and 67.8 ± 8.4 μm in samples from along the desert highway. Particle sizes < 500 μm were most common and accounted for 48–91% of the total in our survey. The abundance and shape distribution of the MPs were closely related to the different types of human activities.

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“…In Sydney, the MP concentrations were 12 MP m -3 [24] . In Gdynia, Poland on the Baltic Sea, the inventory of atmospheric MPs varied from 0 to 30 MP m -2 day -1 [110] . In Badain desert, China MP concentrations were 0.7 ± 1.5 to 11.7 ± 15.5 MP kg -1 [111] (dust), and in the South China Sea were 0.013-0.063 MP m -3 [112] .…”

Section: The Concentration Of Airborne Mpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, MP research in other cities of China reported 67%-80% fibers, < 30% fragments, and < 3% granules. Films were reported in outdoor samples in Pyrenees Mountains [15] , Asaluyeh city, Iran [16] , Dongguan city, China [73] , Yantan city, China [72] , South China Sea [112] , central London, UK [71] , Surabaya, Indonesia [82] , New Jersey, USA [98] , and the Baltic Sea [110] . MP films were reported in the indoor samples from New Jersey, USA [98] and Humber region, UK [84] .…”

Section: Shapes Of Airborne Mpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in the atmosphere: a review

Habibi¹,

Uddin²,

Fowler³

et al. 2022

JEEA

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Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants of considerable persistence and have been a global concern for the past decade. Recently, atmospheric MPs have gained attention. The presence of MPs in the air has been reported from different regions and in air masses over water bodies, demonstrating MPs’ capability of long-range transport and wide spatial distribution away from their source of origin. This review of atmospheric MPs raises questions about the validity and legitimacy of approaches adopted for assessing MP in indoor and outdoor aerosols. The review also provides insight into active and passive sampling techniques and draws attention to the use of the data produced. MP abundance in the atmosphere varies widely among studies due to the disparities in methods employed and the heterogeneity in reporting, making comparisons across spatio-temporal domains infructuous. This review also highlights the paucity of data on atmospheric MPs, and the eminent need to harmonize the methodology for generating a useful comparable dataset that can be used for human health risk assessments.

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Microplastic abundance and distribution in a Central Asian desert

Cited by 55 publications

References 48 publications

Pro-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human and Murine Intestinal Cell Lines

Pro-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on Human and Murine Intestinal Cell Lines

Microplastic Contamination in Urban, Farmland and Desert Environments along a Highway in Southern Xinjiang, China

Microplastics in the atmosphere: a review

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