Textile sources as the main contributor to atmospheric microplastics in Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

BELÉN VILLAFAÑE; ANDRÉS H. ARIAS; ANA RONDA; LEANDRO LUCCHI; LUCAS S. RODRÍGUEZ PIRANI; A. LORENA PICONE; ROSANA M. ROMANO; MARCELO PEREYRA

Conferencia; MICRO 2022: Plastic Pollution from MACRO to nano; 2022

The environmental fate of MPs has been extensively demonstrated in all environmen-tal spheres. However, attention to the atmosphere is still considered incipient. The aim ofthe present work was to assess the presence of airborne microplastics deposited within therainfall in Bahia Blanca City at the SW Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sample collection wasconducted on March, August, September, October, November and December 2021 using anactive rain collector consisting of a glass funnel and a PVC pipe which opens uniquely duringrain events. Results obtained showed that all rain samples contained MPs. Considering allsamples, an average concentration of 194.18 MPs m-2d-1 was found. The highest abundancewas observed in November (354 MPs m-2d-1) while the lowest in March (59 MPs m-2d-1).Considering the size, range was from 0.1 mm to 3.82 mm being the most abundant articlesless than 1 mm (86%). The dominant form of microplastics found were fibers (97.3%), fol-lowed by fragments (1.6%). Color blue predominated in the total samples (31.5%), followedby light blue (26%) and yellow (16%). On the other hand, the existence of small particles(< 2mm) composed by mineral material and plastic fibers were recognized. The chemicalcomposition of suspicious microplastics was examined by Raman microscopy. The analy-sis of µ -Raman spectra confirmed the presence of polystyrene, polyethylene, terephthalate,polyethylene vinyl acetate fibers and provided evidence of fibers containing industrial addi-tives as indigo dye. While a dominance of small plastic microfibers was found, consideringchemical composition, shape and colors, textile was pointed as a probable major source forthe area. The main sources of fibers comes from the degradation of synthetic textiles presentin clothing that may be shed and released as clothing wears out or during domestic laundrywashing.