AI Article Synopsis
- - The study emphasizes the importance of identifying sources of atmospheric microplastics (MPs) for creating effective pollution mitigation strategies using a method called Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) analysis, which offers a more thorough understanding than basic methods like wind direction tracking.
- - Researchers collected hourly samples of suspended particles and measured the concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the atmosphere, finding an average concentration of 112.9 ng/m³.
- - The findings reveal that atmospheric PET primarily comes from both dry farmlands and residential areas, with urban PET sources differing from those of total suspended particles (TSP), signifying the effectiveness of PSCF for identifying specific sources of atmospheric PET.
Article Abstract
Source identification of atmospheric microplastics (MPs) is crucial for the development of mitigation policies. Compared with wind directions or backward trajectories of air masses, the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis identifies more comprehensive sources of atmospheric particles. However, conducting PSCF analysis requires hourly pollutant concentration data, which cannot be met by the atmospheric MPs abundance obtained through commonly used methods. In this study, total suspended particles (TSP) samples were collected hourly and the concentrations of atmospheric polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were detected using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Atmospheric concentrations of PET MPs were 112.9 ± 39.04 ng/m³ (average ± SD). Based on the hourly backward trajectories of air masses and the varied PET concentrations at the sampling site, potential sources of atmospheric PET were identified by PSCF analysis. The backward trajectory-based method indicates that atmospheric PET of the target site in this study primarily originates from dry farmlands. In comparison, both the residential areas and the dry farmlands were identified by PSCF as major sources of atmospheric PET at the receptor site. In contrast, both the backward-trajectory based method and PSCF analysis indicate that TSP mainly originates from the dry farmlands near the sampling site. This indicates that atmospheric PET in urban areas may have different sources from those of TSP, and PSCF is a suitable method for identifying sources of atmospheric PET.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125325 | DOI Listing |
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