Cárdenas-Escudero J, Deylami S, Ochoa M López, Ruiz J Urraca, Galán-Madruga D, Cáceres J O
Laser Chemistry Research Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza de Ciencias 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Analytical Chemistry Department, FCNET, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad Universitaria, Estafeta Universitaria, 3366, Panamá 4, Panama City, Panama.
Laser Chemistry Research Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Plaza de Ciencias 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2025 Aug 20;991:179896. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179896. Epub 2025 Jun 23.
This study investigates the seasonal presence of microplastics (MPs) in indoor and outdoor urban aerosols in Madrid, Spain, for the first time ever. Compared with the research conducted in the hydrosphere and lithosphere, atmospheric MPs pollution is considered relatively unexplored. To address this gap, PM aerosol samples were collected over one year using the standard EN 12341:2014 method. Two rapid quantification methods based on UV-assisted optical microscopy were used, with and without prior extraction. MPs were characterized morphologically using field-enhanced scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray detection (FE-SEM-EDX) and identified through μRaman spectroscopy and pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PyGC-MS). The hybrid single-particle lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) modelling software was used to link MPs potential sources. The study found that indoor MPs exposure (124 ± 25 particles m/day) were higher than outdoors levels (29 ± 7 particles m/day). Indoors exposure was 88 ± 32 MPs m/day during the warm season (April-September) and 122 ± 14 MPs m/day in the cold season (October-March). Outdoors, exposure was relatively consistent year-round (29 ± 8 and 31 ± 6 particles m/day, warm and cold respectively). MPs composition in indoor samples and outdoor samples during the warm season was similar, mainly polystyrene (45.8 %), polyethylene (22.8 %), polyethylene terephthalate (20.0 %), and polymethylmethacrylate (11.4 %). However, outdoor MPs during the cold season showed notable differences. Fibres dominated over fragments, mostly smaller than 100 μm. The highest fibre-to-fragment ratios occurred in December outdoors (0.76) and February indoors (0.88). Atmospheric back-trajectory analysis indicated that many MPs likely originated from distant, especially oceanic, sources, confirming their long-range transport. Overall, the findings highlight significant indoor MPs exposure, especially in colder months, and suggest a general increase in MPs exposure over time across both environments.
本研究首次调查了西班牙马德里室内和室外城市气溶胶中微塑料（MPs）的季节性存在情况。与在水圈和岩石圈开展的研究相比，大气中微塑料污染被认为研究较少。为填补这一空白，使用标准EN 12341:2014方法在一年时间内采集了PM气溶胶样本。采用了两种基于紫外辅助光学显微镜的快速定量方法，一种有预先提取步骤，一种没有。使用场增强扫描电子显微镜结合能量色散X射线检测（FE-SEM-EDX）对微塑料进行形态表征，并通过μ拉曼光谱以及热解与气相色谱-质谱联用（PyGC-MS）进行鉴定。使用混合单粒子拉格朗日积分轨迹（HYSPLIT）建模软件来关联微塑料的潜在来源。研究发现，室内微塑料暴露量（124±25个颗粒/立方米·天）高于室外水平（29±7个颗粒/立方米·天）。在温暖季节（4月至9月）室内暴露量为88±32个微塑料/立方米·天，在寒冷季节（10月至3月）为122±14个微塑料/立方米·天。在室外，全年暴露量相对一致（温暖季节为29±8个颗粒/立方米·天，寒冷季节为31±6个颗粒/立方米·天）。温暖季节室内样本和室外样本中的微塑料组成相似，主要是聚苯乙烯（45.8%）、聚乙烯（22.8%）、聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（20.0%）和聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（11.4%）。然而，寒冷季节的室外微塑料表现出显著差异。纤维在碎片中占主导地位，大多小于100微米。纤维与碎片比例最高的情况出现在12月的室外（0.76）和2月的室内（0.88）。大气后向轨迹分析表明，许多微塑料可能源自遥远的地方，尤其是海洋源，证实了它们的远距离传输。总体而言，研究结果突出了室内微塑料的显著暴露情况，尤其是在较冷的月份，并表明随着时间推移，两种环境中的微塑料暴露量普遍增加。
