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The abundance and distribution of microplastic (-3; mean ± 1 SD) harboring twice as much as outdoor air (0.6 ± 0.6 fibers and 5.6 ± 3.2 fragments m-3). Microplastic fiber length did not differ significantly between indoor and outdoor air, but indoor microplastic fragments (58.6 ± 55 µm) were half the size of outdoor fragments (104.8 ± 64.9 µm). Micro-Raman and FT-IR painted slightly different pictures of airborne plastic compounds, with micro-Raman suggesting polyvinyl chloride dominates indoor air, followed by polyethylene (PE) and µFT-IR showing polystyrene dominates followed by PE and polyethylene terephthalate. The ubiquity of airborne microplastic points to significant new potential sources of plastic inputs to terrestrial and marine ecosystems and raises significant concerns about inhalation exposure to humans both indoors and outdoors.
Gaston et al. (Wed,) studied this question.