Atmospheric microplastic deposition in an urban environment and an evaluation of transport
Open accessAbstract
Microplastics are a global environmental issue contaminating aquatic and terrestrial environments. They have been reported in atmospheric deposition, and indoor and outdoor air, raising concern for public health due to the potential for exposure. Moreover, the atmosphere presents a new vehicle for microplastics to enter the wider environment, yet our knowledge of the quantities, characteristics and pathways of airborne microplastics is sparse. Here we show microplastics in atmospheric deposition in a major population centre, central London. Microplastics were found in all samples, with deposition rates ranging from 575 to 1008 microplastics/m2/d. They were found in various shapes, of which fibrous microplastics accounted for the great majority (92%). Across all samples, 15 different petrochemical-based polymers were identified. Bivariate polar plots indicated dependency on wind, with different source areas for fibrous and non-fibrous airborne microplastics. This is the first evidence of airborne microplastics in London and confirms the need to include airborne pathways when consolidating microplastic impacts on the wider environment and human health.
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Human contamination by microplastics can occur via inhalation and ingestion.
“Contamination in humans can occur via various exposure pathways, including inhalation (particles in air and dust6,7) and ingestion (various types of food and beverages8–10).”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
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“5 Contamination in humans can occur via various exposure pathways, including inhalation (particles in air and dust 6,7 ) and ingestion (various types of food and beverages 8 – 10 ).”
- Authors
- Wright, S. L., Ulke, J., Font, A., Chan, K. L. A., & Kelly, F. J.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wright, S.L.
- Venue
- Environment International
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-03
- Volume
- 136
- Pages
- 105411
- ISSN
- 0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7013824
- OpenAlex
- W2998576579
- Cited by
- 1,222
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 181 · 2025: 229 · 2024: 241 · 2023: 201 · 2022: 203 · 2021: 117 · 2020: 49
- FWCI
- 27.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environment International (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- publish.UP (University of Potsdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- airborne microplastics, atmospheric deposition, urban air pollution, fibrous microplastics, wind direction, microplastic transport pathways, London, human health exposure
- MeSH terms
- Microplastics, Atmosphere, Environmental Monitoring, Humans, London, Water Pollutants, Chemical
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