Table 1 Summary of published studies providing data on abundance, size range, and qualitative and quantitative methods of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) from 2016 to 2020
From: Health impacts of environmental contamination of micro- and nanoplastics: a review
Region | Sample | Abundance | Size range | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lake Winnipeg, Canada | Water | 193,420 ± 115,567 particles/km2 | < 5 mm | [61] |
Qualitative method: dissecting microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) | ||||
Quantitative method: The package “ggmap” and “ggplot2” | ||||
The Hanjiang River and Yangtze River of Wuhan, China | Water | 1660.0 ± 639.1 to 8925 ± 1591 n/m3 | 50 μm to 5 mm | [62] |
Qualitative method: stereoscopic microscope, SEM, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) | ||||
Quantitative method: microscope counting | ||||
Drinking bottled waters, Germany | Water | 193 ± 162 particles/l | 1 to 500 μm | [63] |
Qualitative method: micro-Raman spectroscopy | ||||
Quantitative method: micro-Raman spectroscopy with binary computer | ||||
Drinking water treatment plants, The Czech Republic | Water | 1473 ± 34 to 3605 ± 497 particles/l in raw water, 338 ± 76 to 628 ± 28 particles/l in treated water | 1 to 10 μm | [64] |
Qualitative method: FTIR spectrometer Nicolet 6700, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDX | ||||
Quantitative method: VEGA high-resolution SEM | ||||
All steps of drinking water purification, transportation, and supply in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) | Water | 0 to 7 microplastics/m-3 (raw water), 0.7 microplastics/m-3 (drinking water) | 50 to 150 μm | [65] |
Qualitative method: micro-FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: micro-FTIR | ||||
Tyre wear and tear simulator | Tyre wear and tear particles | 0.81 kg/year per capita | 10 nm to 100 μm | |
Qualitative method: particle size analyzer, SEM-EDX, TLM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) | ||||
Quantitative method: the tyre number weight loss method, the emission factor per vehicle-km approach | ||||
The Changjiang Estuary, China | Sediment | 121 ± 9 items/kg of dry weight | 1174.5 ± 41.8 μm | [66] |
Qualitative method: micro-FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: micro-FTIR | ||||
Rivers and tidal flat in Shanghai urban districts, China | Sediment | 802 ± 594 items/kg of dry weight | 100 μm to 5 mm | [67] |
Qualitative method: microscopic observations, micro-FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: weighing method | ||||
The coastline of Tamil Nadu, India | Sediment | 46.6 ± 37.2/m2 | 0.3 to 4.75 mm | [68] |
Qualitative method: NIKON stereoscopic microscope fitted with a digital camera, Perkin Elmer, attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FTIR (ATR-FTIR) | ||||
Quantitative method: FTIR | ||||
Charleston Harbor, USA. | Water | 6.6 ± 1.3 particles/l | > 63 μm | [69] |
Qualitative method: ATR-FTIR, dissecting microscope | ||||
Quantitative method: FTIR | ||||
Winyah Bay, USA. | Water | 30.8 ± 12.1 particles/l | > 63 μm | [69] |
Qualitative method: ATR-FTIR, dissecting microscope | ||||
Quantitative method: FTIR | ||||
Spanish table salt | Salt | 50–280 MPs/kg salt | 30 μm to 3.5 mm | [70] |
Qualitative method: stereo microscopy, FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: FTIR | ||||
Table salts for sale, China | Sea salts, lake salts, and rock/well salts | 550–681 particles/kg (sea salts), 43–364 particles/kg (lake salts), and 7–204 particles/kg (rock/well salts) | < 200 μm | [71] |
Qualitative method: Carl Zeiss Discovery V8 stereomicroscope, micro-FTIR | ||||
Quantitative Method: microscopic observation, micro-FTIR | ||||
The Fram Strait, the Barents Sea slope and the Central Arctic | Sea ice | 11.7 ± 7.6 N/m3 | < 50 μm | [72] |
Qualitative method: a Hyperion 3000 microscope (Bruker Optics) attached to a Tensor 27 (Bruker Optics) spectrometer, imaging FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: focal plane array (FPA) FTIR microscopy and image analysis | ||||
Southeastern National Park Service (NPS) units, USA | Sand | 43 to 443 pieces/kg sand | ~20 μm in width and varied highly (0.1 to 11 cm) in length | [73] |
Qualitative method: FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: microplastic quantification (AM3011 digital microscope) | ||||
Switzerland | Soil | Not mentioned | 1–5 mm | [74] |
Qualitative method: ATR-FTIR | ||||
Quantitative method: precisely measuring the size of the single particles and calculating their weight using an empirical relationship between particle size and weight | ||||
The central district of Tehran, Iran | Deposited urban dust | Adults: 1063 particles/year; Children: 3223 particles/year | 250 to 500 μm | [75] |
Qualitative method: SEM, EDX detector | ||||
Quantitative method: binocular microscope | ||||
The North Atlantic subtropical gyre | Seawater | Several populations (13–501 plastic debris per m3) | 1 to 1000 nm | [18] |
Qualitative method: dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments, FTIR, pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, microscope imaging | ||||
Quantitative method: principal component analysis (PCA) | ||||