Microplastics (<5mm) are ubiquitous within the environment. Microplastics of various shapes, sizes and chemical compositions have been detected in the atmospheric environment, including outdoor ambient air, atmospheric deposition and road dust. Within indoor environments, microplastics have been detected in indoor ambient air, indoor dust fall/deposition and indoor dust.
To date, no research has been published regarding characterization and quantification of the microplastic presence in Australian air in either outdoor or indoor environments. To investigate the presence of microplastics, samples of ambient air, deposition and road dust will be taken and analyzed using both microscopy for characterization and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (Pyr-GC/MS) for mass based quantification. The findings of this work would assist to determine whether microplastics are present within the atmospheric environment of Brisbane, Australia.
Please note this is a PhD Student Confirmation seminar.