ACINMUA – Abundance, characteristics and significance of nano- and microplastics in urban air

Project description

ACINMUA (Abundance, characteristics and significance of nano- and microplastics in urban air) aims to identify nano- and microplastic particles in the air and resolve the distribution and main sources pf plastics in urban environments. ACINMUA has also the following objectives:

• develop sampling and analytical methods to determine the chemical and physical properties of airborne nano- and microplastics

• measure the contribution of atmospheric nano- and microplastics to urban PM and assess their significance for air quality in urban areas

• evaluate the suitable metrics for nano- and microplastics (mass, number, surface or some other parameter) in order to address the air quality impact

Plastic particles have been found in many environmental matrices, i.e. water, soil and ice, as well as in living organisms including human bodies. However, the knowledge on airborne nano- and microplastics is still largely missing.

This project combines the in-depth knowledge of atmospheric scientists related to particle sampling and online chemical analysis with the expertise of environmental scientists to analyze microplastics on various environmental matrices. Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has decades of expertise on the sampling and chemical composition analysis of airborne particles whereas Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) has investigated microplastics in water and soil matrices for several years. The theme of ACINMUA is very topical as the problems with nano- and microplastic are in the media almost daily. Plastic particles have been found in many environmental matrices, i.e. water, soil and ice, as well as in living organisms including human bodies, however, the knowledge on airborne nano- and microplastics is still largely missing. The reason for that is that there have not been suitable sampling and analytical methods for nano- and microplastics in the air.