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Airborne Microplastics – Are They Really Negligible?
When people talk about microplastics, they usually mention drinking water, bottled beverages, and food. Airborne microplastics stayed out of focus for a long time, even though air is the medium we constantly interact with – every moment, with every breath.
Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that airborne microplastics are not negligible but rather part of global pollution affecting both outdoor and indoor environments. If microplastics appear in Antarctic snow, in the dust of protected natural reserves, and inside the human body, then we can no longer ignore the question of air.
Why Airborne Microplastics Are a Unique Challenge
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, while even smaller fractions are classified as nanoplastics. They form through the breakdown and fragmentation of larger plastic products, but they also emerge directly – through fiber release from synthetic textiles, material abrasion in interiors, and industrial processes.
Microplastic intake is typically involuntary.
Regardless of the exposure pathway, people do not ingest microplastics of their own volition.
However, given that an average person’s daily needs include roughly 1 kg of food, around 2 liters of water, and as much as 12,000 liters of air, it becomes clear that exposure to microplastics through air is far harder to control than through food and water.
Breathing-related exposure to microplastics is continuous, uninterrupted, and practically unavoidable.
That is precisely why airborne microplastics represent a unique challenge, especially indoors.
Airborne Microplastics in Indoor Buildings
People spend almost 90% of their time indoors – mostly at home.
Indoors, airborne microplastics originate from the degradation and abrasion of many synthetic materials, especially those used daily. These include:
- synthetic textiles, carpets, and upholstery,
- curtains and upholstered furniture,
- plastic furniture and interior elements,
- appliances, devices, and equipment,
- packaging for food, beverages, and chemicals.
Microplastic particles released from these sources accumulate in dust. As a result, dust acts as both a reservoir and a secondary emission source when it becomes airborne again.
Because ventilation is often limited and emission sources remain constant, indoor concentrations of airborne microplastics are often higher than those in outdoor air.
How Much Microplastics Do We Take In – Why Air Matters Most
Exposure estimates suggest that people ingest annually:
- 39,000–52,000 microplastic particles through food and water,
- 74,000–121,000 particles per year when inhalation is included, meaning when airborne microplastics are taken into account.
Simulation models published in 2025 indicate that people may inhale up to 71,000 microplastic particles per day, with most exposure taking place indoors.
These findings show that inhalation represents one of the key pathways of microplastic exposure. Moreover, some models suggest that inhalation may even become the dominant exposure pathway, rather than food and water intake as previously assumed.
What raises particular concern is that inhalation involves not only larger particles but also micro- and nanoplastic particles. Like other PM2.5 and ultrafine particles, they can penetrate deep into the lungs and may then enter the bloodstream and other organs.
Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance – A New Dimension of Risk
Beyond their direct physical and chemical effects, researchers increasingly focus on microplastics as carriers of microorganisms and antibiotic resistance genes.
Studies have shown that biofilms easily form on the surface of microplastic particles, creating structures known as plastispheres. Within these biofilms, bacteria can:
- survive longer in unfavorable conditions,
- exchange genetic material more easily,
- including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs).
Researchers have studied this phenomenon in detail across aquatic and soil environments. However, they are increasingly considering it in the context of aerosols and air. Airborne microplastics may potentially act as a transport medium for microorganisms, enabling their spread and prolonged persistence in the environment.
Although researchers still do not have definitive answers about the real contribution of airborne microplastics to the development of antibiotic resistance in humans, the fact that this is a new and complex interaction pathway between pollution and microbiology makes it highly relevant to future research on air quality and public health.
Airborne Microplastics in Antarctica
One of the most striking pieces of evidence that airborne microplastics pose a global problem comes from research conducted in Antarctica. Scientists found microplastics in snow in the most remote parts of the continent, far away from local pollution sources.
This means airborne currents transport microplastics across vast distances, much like other aerosols. As a result, even the cleanest places on Earth are not isolated from this type of pollution.
Why Snow “Cleans” the Air – But Does Not Solve the Problem
Precipitation removes suspended particles from the air through a process known as wet deposition. Snow is often more effective than rain because snowflakes have a large surface area, fall more slowly, and capture fine particles, including microplastics, more efficiently.
However, it is essential to emphasize that snow does not remove microplastics from the system. Instead, it simply transfers them from the air into soil and water. Microplastics in snow primarily prove that they were previously present in the air.
Microplastics in Dust From Remote and Protected Areas
Researchers have also detected microplastics in dust from remote mountain areas and protected natural reserves with minimal human presence. These findings further confirm that airborne microplastics are a global pollutant, not a local issue.
Microplastics in Breast Milk, the Brain, and the Placenta
One of the most direct pieces of evidence that airborne microplastics enter the human body comes from research confirming their presence in the placenta and breast milk.
A 2022 study detected microplastics in 76% of breast milk samples, while a clinical study from 2024 confirmed microplastics in almost 39% of samples.
These findings indicate that microplastics:
- cross biological barriers,
- enter the bloodstream,
- and reach the most vulnerable populations, including newborns.
If microplastics exist in the air we breathe every day, then finding them in breast milk no longer seems like an exception, but rather a consequence of continuous exposure.
Air Ionization and Microplastics – A Promising Research Direction?
In addition to conventional filtration approaches, air ionization is receiving increased attention as a potential method for controlling microplastic particles.
Within the scientific project IonCleanTech, researchers from the Institute of Physics in Belgrade study how ionization affects the behavior of airborne microplastics. As Dr Andjelija Ilić explains, when microplastic particles bind to ions, their mass increases, making them settle more readily on surfaces. Consequently, they remain suspended in the air for a shorter time and present a lower inhalation risk.
Although this research is still in its early stages, initial results suggest that ionization could become an important additional tool for reducing airborne microplastics.
Airborne Microplastics as an Indoor Air Quality Issue
From everything above, airborne microplastics are not an isolated problem. Instead, they represent part of the broader indoor air quality challenge.
And when we talk about indoor air quality and purification, Marquis Intelligence is impossible to overlook – precisely because Marquis Intelligence has spent decades designing and implementing system-based solutions for ventilation, filtration, and air quality improvement in spaces where people live, work, and receive medical care.
Modern challenges require:
- understanding aerosol physics,
- following scientific research,
- combining technologies – not relying on standalone devices.
Marquis Intelligence actively monitors the development of emerging approaches, including air ionisation research, to address not only today’s challenges but also the future of indoor air quality.
See also: Resident Ventilation by Marquis Intelligence
See also: Mini Case Study: Establishing Digital Authority in Air Quality
Airborne Microplastics Are Definitely Not Negligible
If microplastics exist in air, snow, dust, the placenta, and breast milk, then airborne microplastics cannot be considered negligible.
Understanding the problem is the first step.
System-based solutions for cleaner air are the next.
Sources
- Cox, K. D. et al. Human Consumption of Microplastics, Environmental Science & Technology, 2019. / DOI: 1021/acs.est.9b01517
- PLOS ONE, 2025. Simulation of human inhalation exposure to microplastics in indoor environments / DOI: 1371/journal.pone.0294049
- Liu, C. et al. Exposure to airborne microplastics: A review, Science of the Total Environment, / DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161804
- Bergmann, M. et al. White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic, Science Advances, 2019. / DOI: 1126/sciadv.aax1157
- Ragusa, A. et al. Microplastics in human breast milk, Polymers, 2022. / DOI: 3390/polym14132700
- Ragusa, A. et al. Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta, Environment International, 2021. / DOI: 1016/j.envint.2020.106274
- Zettler, E. R. et al. Life in the “Plastisphere”, Environmental Science & Technology, 2013. / DOI: 1021/es401288x
This article is part of the Marquis Intelligence series “Air Quality, Environment and Sustainability”, which addresses sources of pollution, as well as technical and technological solutions and their impact on air quality.
Document: MI-AES-006.26 – Airborne Microplastics – Are They Really Negligible?
