Abstract
Microplastic (MP) pollution has aroused a tremendous amount of public and scientific interest worldwide. MPs are found widely ranging from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems primarily due to the over-exploitation of plastic products and unscientific disposal of plastic waste. There is a large availability of scientific literature on MP pollution in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, especially the marine environments; however, only recently has greater scientific attention been focused on the presence of MPs in the air and its retrospective health implications. Besides, atmospheric transport has been reported to be an important pathway of transport of MPs to the pristine regions of the world. From a health perspective, existing studies suggest that airborne MPs are priority pollutant vectors, that may penetrate deep into the body through inhalation leading to adverse health impacts such as neurotoxicity, cancer, respiratory problems, cytotoxicity, and many more. However, their effects on indoor and outdoor air quality, and on human health are not yet clearly understood due to the lack of enough research studies on that and the non-availability of established scientific protocols for their characterization. This scientific review entails important information concerning the abundance of atmospheric MPs worldwide within the existing literature. A thorough comparison of existing sampling and analytical protocols has been presented. Besides, this review has unveiled the areas of scientific concern especially air quality monitoring which requires immediate attention, with the information gaps to be filled have been addressed.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the help and support received by RK under DST-SERB research project "EEQ/2017/000713". Authors are also thankful to the anonymous reviewers.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by SG, RK and AR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by SG and RK. The draft was revised and reviewed by SY, AV, KR, and MB. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Highlights
• From published literature, current information on the genesis and prevalence of atmospheric MPs has been reviewed.
• Evaluation of sampling and analytical methods for describing the physicochemical composition of atmospheric MPs has been done.
• Effects of MPs on the environment and public health have been examined.
• Perspectives on the implications of atmospheric MPs on air quality in the present and future have been presented.
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Gupta, S., Kumar, R., Rajput, A. et al. Atmospheric Microplastics: Perspectives on Origin, Abundances, Ecological and Health Risks. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 107435–107464 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28422-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28422-y