Widespread distribution of PET and PC microplastics in dust in urban China and their estimated human exposure

Dust is a fate of many contaminants and may be an important medium for the human exposure to these contaminants. Microplastics (MPs) have been observed in dust in previous studies. However, the mass concentrations of dominant MPs in dust and the exposure risk to human remain unclear. In this study, indoor and outdoor dust samples were collected from 39 major cities of China. The mass concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) MPs were determined through alkali-assisted thermal depolymerization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the shape and component distribution of MPs were analyzed by optical microscopy and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. PET…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 41722304
• MO
  Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

  Award: T2017002
• TS
  Tianjin Science and Technology Committee

  Award: 18JCZDJC33900
• HE
  Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2018YFC1800702