Background: Microplastics have increasingly been detected in various environmental matrices. The concentration and distribution of microplastics in these environments remain poorly understood, particularly across various land uses within a city. This study addressed this knowledge gap by investigating the distribution and characteristics of microplastics in both road dust and urban soil across different land uses in Shushtar City. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 38 samples were collected in the road dust and urban soil of the different land uses. Stereo-microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX were employed for the identification of microplastics. Results: The study revealed a significant presence of microplastics in both road dust and urban soil. Road dust consistently exhibited higher microplastic concentrations compared to urban soil. High-traffic areas had the highest microplastic concentration in road dust (86.33 particles per 10 g), followed by municipal services (87 particles per 10 g) and industrial areas (42.28 particles per 10 g). In contrast, green spaces exhibited the highest microplastic concentration in urban soil (16.40 particles per 10 g), followed by residential areas (15.46 particles per 10 g) and municipal services (16.40 particles per 10 g). The Kruskal-Wallis test did not detect statistically significant differences (P>0.05) in microplastic concentration or characteristics between all land uses. Conclusion: The findings suggest that waste management practices, prevailing wind directions, and atmospheric conditions, including dry and wet deposition, play pivotal roles in influencing microplastic sources in road dust and urban soils in Shushtar City, southwest Iran.
Asban et al. (Thu,) studied this question.