Widespread distribution of PET and PC microplastics in dust in urban China and their estimated human exposure

Dust is a fate of many contaminants and may be an important medium for the human exposure to these contaminants. Microplastics (MPs) have been observed in dust in previous studies. However, the mass concentrations of dominant MPs in dust and the exposure risk to human remain unclear. In this study,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment international 2019-07, Vol.128, p.116-124
Main Authors: Liu, Chunguang, Li, Jia, Zhang, Yilei, Wang, Lei, Deng, Jie, Gao, Yuan, Yu, Lu, Zhang, Junjie, Sun, Hongwen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dust
Fiber
Human exposure
Microplastics
Polycarbonate
Polyethylene terephthalate
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Summary:Dust is a fate of many contaminants and may be an important medium for the human exposure to these contaminants. Microplastics (MPs) have been observed in dust in previous studies. However, the mass concentrations of dominant MPs in dust and the exposure risk to human remain unclear. In this study, indoor and outdoor dust samples were collected from 39 major cities of China. The mass concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) MPs were determined through alkali-assisted thermal depolymerization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the shape and component distribution of MPs were analyzed by optical microscopy and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. PET MPs were detected in all the samples at high concentrations of 1550–120,000 mg/kg (indoor) and 212–9020 mg/kg (outdoor) and PC MPs were detected in approximately 70% of the samples, with median concentrations of 4.6 mg/kg (indoor) and 2.0 mg/kg (outdoor). Fiber was the main shape of suspected MPs, and polyester (including PET) was identified as an important component in MPs from dust. Indoor dust is a non-negligible source of human exposure to MPs, accounting for a geomean daily intake of 17,300 ng/kg-bw of PET MPs in children. [Display omitted] •PET and PC microplastics (MPs) are widespread in dust.•PET MPs ranged from 1550 to 120,000 mg/kg in indoor dust.•μ-FTIR analysis indicated that polyester was an important type of MPs in dust.•Positive correlation was found between fiber abundance and PET concentrations in dust.•High daily intake of MPs through indoor dust was estimated.
ISSN:0160-4120
1873-6750
DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.024