Atmospheric Deposition of Microplastics in South Central Appalachia in the United States

Adam Elnahas; Austin Gray; Jennie Lee; Noora AlAmiri; Nishan Pokhrel; Steve Allen; Hosein Foroutan

doi:10.1021/acsestair.4c00189

Atmospheric Deposition of Microplastics in South Central Appalachia in the United States

ACS EST Air. 2024 Dec 26;2(1):64-72. doi: 10.1021/acsestair.4c00189. eCollection 2025 Jan 10.

Authors

Adam Elnahas¹, Austin Gray², Jennie Lee¹, Noora AlAmiri¹, Nishan Pokhrel¹, Steve Allen³, Hosein Foroutan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States.
² Department of Biological Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States.
³ Healthy Earth, 71-75, Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, U.K.

Abstract

Due to the increased prevalence of plastic pollution globally, atmospheric deposition of microplastics (MPs) is a significant issue that needs to be better understood to identify potential consequences for human health. This study is the first to quantify and characterize atmospheric MP deposition in the Eastern United States. Passive sampling was conducted at two locations within the Eastern United States, specifically in remote South Central Appalachia, from March to September 2023. Each location had five sampling periods, with collections over a 21 day period. Samples were processed to remove biological material, and the presence of MPs was confirmed using Raman spectroscopy to match particles based on polymer similarity. The relative average atmospheric MP deposition in South Central Appalachia was determined to be 68 MPs m^-2 d^-1. Most verified MPs were fibers, and the most abundant polymer type identified was poly(ethylene terephthalate) PETE. This study's average MP deposition rate is qualitatively comparable to rates reported in other studies that employed a similar methodology in a similar landscape. Scaling up our measured deposition rate to all of South Central Appalachia, an area of over 94,000 km² and home to five million people, suggests a yearly MP deposition of approximately 321 metric tonnes. Our study highlights the prevalence of MP deposition in the Eastern United States, providing baseline data for future work to further assess routes of MP introduction.