Have Impinger, Will Travel
Lea Ann Dailey1, Lukas Wimmer1, Korinna Altmann2, Anya Sherman3, Thilo Hofmann3
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
2Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung / BAM Unter den Eichen 87 12205 Berlin, Germany
3Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Science Systems, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Summary
Due to the difficulty of quantifying plastics in the environment, there is currently a lack of data on inhalation exposure to micro- and nanoplastics in indoor and outdoor aerosols. New and creative methodologies are required to address this data gap. Over the past year, we have taken our glass twin stage impinger on a grand tour of the continent, collecting aerosol samples from different locations off the Croatian coastline, in the Austrian countryside as well as in indoor climbing halls. It was hypothesized that certain exposure environments, such as inhalation of sea spray aerosol on the coast or dust from indoor climbing halls, will be hot spots of elevated exposure to rubbers, plastics and their additives. The development of a methodology for the quantification of respirable plastics and additives based on liquid impingement combined with granular fluid bed filtration is critically discussed. Preliminary results from our indoor sampling campaign revealed that the respirable fraction of air in climbing halls contained elevated concentrations particulates as well as additives derived from rubber shoes soles, as compared to control samples.