Airborne Microplastics: Concerns Over Public Health and Environmental Impacts

Abstract

The atmosphere is populated by different types of particles, including those of synthetic origin. Originating from products and activities, such as textiles and tire abrasion, microplastics and microfibers are released into the indoor and outdoor air. In the environment, these airborne microplastics and microfibers are released, transported by the wind, deposited, and resuspended, crossing boundaries between environmental compartments in a dynamic exchange. Eventually, they find their way into our respiratory systems where, in high concentrations, they may cause chronic inflammatory lesions. The presence of synthetic particles in the atmosphere has been detected in 14 studies, with varying methodological approaches for the sampling of suspended or deposited particles. For suspended particles, concentrations range from 0.4 to 59.4 for indoor and from 0 to 1.5 particles m-3 for outdoor air. In deposition studies conducted outdoors, concentrations range from 1, 600 to 11, 000 particles m-2 d-1. Even though there are only 14 studies, the number of current methodologies for sampling is already varied and each group uses their own version of sampling and processing protocols. Such a diversity in methodologies greatly limits the interpretation of results. But can these current concentrations of airborne synthetic particles have an impact in our world? In terms of health, limited negative consequences are expected from environmental exposure. Even occupational exposure only results in respiratory lesions when workers are exposed to high concentrations usually resulting from the lack of protection measures, such as proper ventilation. However, environmental contamination caused by deposition of airborne synthetic particles may cause severe consequences, not necessarily expected at the level of organism toxicity, but by altering the physical properties of matrices which may cause irreversible changes to essential Earth systems. Thus, better understanding of concentrations, characteristics, and distribution of airborne microplastics and microfibers is needed to provide grounds for prevention and mitigation measures.