Examining Fine Particulate Microplastics in Indoor Air

Keywords: Microplastics, indoor air, fine particulate matter, thermal extraction desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS), cascade impactor, centrifugation.
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 74

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are a diverse contaminant class that persist in all environments. While MPs are a global phenomenon, little effort has been committed to their study in the air despite growing concerns about their prevalence. Indoor MP emissions are of particular concern, as the average North American spends 90% of their time indoors, where MPs predominate. Airborne MPs have been found to increase in abundance with decreasing size, increasing their risk for inhalation. Nevertheless, research is limited, as current analytical methods cannot reliably detect MPs smaller than 2.5 micrometres (μm), herein called fine particulate MPs (MP-PM2.5), which limits our ability to assess human exposure risks. Thermal extraction desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) may pose a novel solution. TED-GC/MS enables the identification of polymer products in a gas phase, thereby facilitating the chemical characterization of MPs irrespective of their particle size. Despite its evident promise, TED-GC/MS has yet to be applied to MP-PM2.5. My research seeks to determine if MP-PM2.5 are present in indoor air to assess human exposure risks. Using a multi-stage cascade impactor I will capture and sort PM2.5 by aerodynamic diameter. Seeing that MPs are predominantly fibrous in morphology, I will also use a centrifugal sampler to capture PM2.5. Methods will be compared in terms of sampling and particle sizing efficiency. I will then characterize and quantify PM2.5 in terms of composition and mass, respectively, via TED-GC/MS analysis. PM of each size class will be independently analyzed to determine their size distribution and related exposure risks.