Maryam Hazrati Niari, Hassan Ghobadi, Mojtaba Amani, Mohammad Reza Aslani, Mehdi Fazlzadeh, Somaieh Matin, Ali Hossein Samadi Takaldani, Saeed Hosseininia
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The concern about microplastics is increasing due to their adverse effects on human health and environmental pollution. This study identified microplastics in the indoor air of hospitals in different departments, including laboratory, physiotherapy, endoscopy, and emergency departments, as well as in outdoor air around hospitals. Additionally, we assessed exposure to microplastics through inhalation. A total of 56 samples of indoor air and 14 samples of outdoor air were collected and analyzed. Microplastics were identified in indoor and outdoor air of hospitals with mean values of 29.75 ± 8.28 and 2.2 ± 0.95 MPs/m3, respectively. The highest abundance of microplastics was found in the indoor air of the laboratory department (33.13 ± 4.98 MPs/m3), followed by physiotherapy (31.49 ± 3.81 MPs/m3), emergency (28.08 ± 3.28 MPs/m3), and endoscopy (26.74 ± 3.09 MPs/m3) departments, respectively. PET and PP were the predominant polymer compounds of microplastics in indoor and outdoor air, respectively. The mean values of daily exposure to microplastics through inhalation in indoor and outdoor air in hospitals were157.18 ± 54.64 and 12.23 ± 5.51 MPs/day, respectively. We conclude that exposure to microplastics through inhalation may increase health risks to individuals, necessitating further investigation.
期刊介绍:
Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health is a multidisciplinary journal which, by its very name, illustrates the broad range of work it publishes and which focuses on atmospheric consequences of human activities and their implications for human and ecological health.
It offers research papers, critical literature reviews and commentaries, as well as special issues devoted to topical subjects or themes.
International in scope, the journal presents papers that inform and stimulate a global readership, as the topic addressed are global in their import. Consequently, we do not encourage submission of papers involving local data that relate to local problems. Unless they demonstrate wide applicability, these are better submitted to national or regional journals.
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health addresses such topics as acid precipitation; airborne particulate matter; air quality monitoring and management; exposure assessment; risk assessment; indoor air quality; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modeling and prediction; air pollution climatology; climate change and air quality; air pollution measurement; atmospheric impact assessment; forest-fire emissions; atmospheric science; greenhouse gases; health and ecological effects; clean air technology; regional and global change and satellite measurements.
This journal benefits a diverse audience of researchers, public health officials and policy makers addressing problems that call for solutions based in evidence from atmospheric and exposure assessment scientists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors. Publication in the journal affords the opportunity to reach beyond defined disciplinary niches to this broader readership.