Aradhana Kadamparambil Sivasankaran, Moorchilot Vishnu S, Joo Taiha, Aravindakumar Charuvila T, Aravind Usha K
School of Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi 682022, India.
School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam 686560, India.
ACS Omega. 2024 Nov 30;10(5):4418-4426. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c07373. eCollection 2025 Feb 11.
Indoor environments are particularly vulnerable to microplastics (MPs) and associated copollutants due to limited air circulation and particulate matter accumulation. Continuous monitoring is essential to evaluate exposure levels and health risks. We propose using indoor spider webs as passive monitors for MPs and their copollutants. MPs were found in both web and dust samples with nonuniform distribution ( < 0.05), indicating contamination hotspots. Web samples had significantly higher MP levels (138-33,570 MPs/g) compared to dust samples (59-9324 MPs/g). A strong positive correlation ( = 0.93, < 0.05) between MPs in dust and webs suggests that spider webs are effective bioindicators of indoor MP contamination. The study also revealed the presence of Bisphenol A and various phthalic acid esters (PAEs). Co-pollutant concentrations ranged from 52.02-1971.78 μg/kg in webs and 43.18-518.42 μg/kg in dust. Diethyl phthalate (DEP) was more common in webs, while Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) predominated in dust. These findings highlight spider webs' potential as both effective biomonitoring tools and significant sinks for MPs and their cocontaminants in indoor environments.
由于空气流通有限和颗粒物积累，室内环境特别容易受到微塑料（MPs）及其相关共污染物的影响。持续监测对于评估暴露水平和健康风险至关重要。我们建议使用室内蜘蛛网作为MPs及其共污染物的被动监测器。在蛛网和灰尘样本中均发现了MPs，其分布不均匀（<0.05），表明存在污染热点。与灰尘样本（59 - 9324个MPs/克）相比，蛛网样本中的MPs水平显著更高（138 - 33570个MPs/克）。灰尘和蛛网中的MPs之间存在很强的正相关（= 0.93，< 0.05），这表明蜘蛛网是室内MP污染的有效生物指标。该研究还揭示了双酚A和各种邻苯二甲酸酯（PAEs）的存在。共污染物浓度在蛛网中为52.02 - 1971.78微克/千克，在灰尘中为43.18 - 518.42微克/千克。邻苯二甲酸二乙酯（DEP）在蛛网中更常见，而邻苯二甲酸二丁酯（DBP）在灰尘中占主导地位。这些发现突出了蜘蛛网作为室内环境中MPs及其共污染物的有效生物监测工具和重要汇的潜力。
