Airborne Microplastics in Spanish Schools: Abundance, Morphology, Polymer Composition and Aerodynamic Size in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings
- 1Department of Chemistry and Physics, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri-Food Biotechnology (CIAMBITAL), University of Almería, Agri-Food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 04120 Almería, Spain
- 2Experimental Station of Arid Zones, Spanish National Research Council (EEZA-CSIC), Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
- 3School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Abstract
Airborne microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants of concern in school environments, where children may experience prolonged exposure. This study assessed airborne MPs at three Spanish schools located in contrasting settings: a dense urban area in Madrid (A), a residential area in Almería (B), and an agricultural peri-urban area in Almería surrounded by greenhouses (C). An additional simultaneous indoor–outdoor comparison was performed at School B. Air samples were collected using active samplers with 25 µm stainless-steel meshes, and particles were characterised by stereomicroscopy, µ-FTIR spectroscopy, FESEM, and FTIR. Fibres were the predominant morphology, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the most abundant synthetic polymer. School A showed the highest abundance of synthetic fibres, while polymer composition differed significantly among schools (χ2 (12) =41.77, p < 0.0001). Indoor samples contained more particles than outdoor samples, although natural-to-synthetic proportions were similar; PP, PA, and PE contributed relatively more indoors, whereas PET predominated outdoors. Only 0.45% and 0.13% of particles fell within the <10 µm and <4 µm estimated aerodynamic-size ranges, respectively, all being fibres. Overall, airborne MP occurrence varied with location and indoor–outdoor setting, while selected PET and PP fibres showed polymer-dependent surface and chemical alteration.
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BibTeX
@article{garcia2026airborne,
title = {{Airborne Microplastics in Spanish Schools: Abundance, Morphology, Polymer Composition and Aerodynamic Size in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings}},
author = {Eugenia Battellocchi García and María José Gómez Ramos and María Dolores Hernando Guil and Laura Cortés Corrales and Chen Wang and José Luis Oller Serrano and Harshit Sahai and Maria Jesús Martínez Bueno and Amadeo Rodríguez Fernández-Alba},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212784},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2784},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Airborne Microplastics in Spanish Schools: Abundance, Morphology, Polymer Composition and Aerodynamic Size in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings
AU - Eugenia Battellocchi García
AU - María José Gómez Ramos
AU - María Dolores Hernando Guil
AU - Laura Cortés Corrales
AU - Chen Wang
AU - José Luis Oller Serrano
AU - Harshit Sahai
AU - Maria Jesús Martínez Bueno
AU - Amadeo Rodríguez Fernández-Alba
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212784
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2784
AB - Airborne microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants of concern in school environments, where children may experience prolonged exposure. This study assessed airborne MPs at three Spanish schools located in contrasting settings: a dense urban area in Madrid (A), a residential area in Almería (B), and an agricultural peri-urban area in Almería surrounded by greenhouses (C). An additional simultaneous indoor–outdoor comparison was performed at School B. Air samples were collected using active samplers with 25 µm stainless-steel meshes, and particles were characterised by stereomicroscopy, µ-FTIR spectroscopy, FESEM, and FTIR. Fibres were the predominant morphology, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the most abundant synthetic polymer. School A showed the highest abundance of synthetic fibres, while polymer composition differed significantly among schools (χ2 (12) =41.77, p < 0.0001). Indoor samples contained more particles than outdoor samples, although natural-to-synthetic proportions were similar; PP, PA, and PE contributed relatively more indoors, whereas PET predominated outdoors. Only 0.45% and 0.13% of particles fell within the <10 µm and <4 µm estimated aerodynamic-size ranges, respectively, all being fibres. Overall, airborne MP occurrence varied with location and indoor–outdoor setting, while selected PET and PP fibres showed polymer-dependent surface and chemical alteration.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -