An emerging class of air pollutants: Potential effects of microplastics to respiratory human health?
Autor
Amato-Lourenço, Luís Fernando
Dantos Galvão, Luciana dos
Weger, Letty A. de
Hiemstra, Pieter S.
Vijver, Martina G.
Mauad, Thais
Institución
Resumen
It is increasingly recognized that the ubiquity of convenient single-use plastic has
resulted in a global plastic pollution challenge, with substantial environmental and
health consequences. Physical, chemical, and biological processes result in plastic
weathering, with eventual formation of debris in the micro to nano size range. There is
an increasing awareness that plastic fragments are dispersed in the air and can be
inhaled by humans, which may cause adverse effects on the respiratory system and on
other systems. Urban environments are often characterized by high concentrations of
fine airborne dust from various sources. To date, however, there is limited information
on the distribution, shape, and size of microplastics in the air in urban and other
environments. In this article, we review and discuss our current understanding of the
exposure characteristics of airborne plastic debris in urbanized areas, focusing on
concentration, size, morphology, presence of additives and distributions of different
polymers. The natural and extend data are compiled and compared to laboratorybased analyses to further our understanding of the potential adverse effects of inhaled
plastic particles on human health.