This project is to investigate the presence, behaviour and emission sources of microplastics (1-5000µm) in air. This includes in dust, deposition (gravity fall) and ambient air.
Research Outputs
Conference Presentations
O’Brien, S., Okoffo, E. D., O’Brien, J. W., Ribeiro, F., Wang, X., Wright, S. L., Samanipour, S., Rauert, C., Toapanta, T., Albarracin, R., Thomas, K. V. Airborne emissions of microplastic fibres from domestic laundry dryers. Micro 2020, Online, 17-18 October, 2020.
O’Brien, S., Okoffo, E. D., Rauert, C., O’Brien, J. W., Ribeiro, F., Burrows, S. D., Topanta, T., Wang, X., Thomas, K. V. Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust. SETAC Europe, Dublin, Ireland, 30 April - 4 May, 2021.
O’Brien, S. Rauert, C., Ribeiro, F., Okoffo, E. D., Burrows, S. D., O’Brien, J. W., Wang, X., Wright, S. L., Thomas, K. V. Airborne emissions of microplastic fibres from domestic laundry dryers. EcoSummit Gold Coast (online), Australia, 14-15 June, 2021.
O’Brien, S., Okoffo, E., Rauert, C., O’Brien, J., Ribeiro, F., Burrows, S., Toapanta, T., Wang, X., Thomas, K.V. Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust, SETAC-AU Conference 2021, Melbourne, Australia, 30 August – 2 September 2021.
O’Brien, S., Wright, S., Rauert, C., Thomas, K. Plastics in ambient air (PM10) samples from the United Kingdom – A pilot study for pyrolysis mass spectrometry-based quantification (ng/m3), SETAC Asia-Pacific Virtual Conference, 5-8 September 2022.
O’Brien, S., Okoffo, E. D., Rauert, C., O’Brien, J. W., Ribeiro, F., Burrows, S. D., Toapanta, T., Wang, X., Thomas, K. V. Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust. Micro 2022, Chicago, Illinois, (Online), 1-5 October, 2022.
O’Brien, S., Okoffo, E.D., Rauert, C., O’Brien, J.W., Ribeiro, F., Burrows, S.D., Toapanta, T., Wang, X. and Thomas, K.V. Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust, Queensland Mass Spectrometry Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, 1-2 December 2022.
O’Brien, S., Rauert, C., Ribeiro, F., Okoffo, E. D., Burrows, S. D., O’Brien, J. W., Wang, X., Wright, S. L., Thomas, K. V. There’s something in the air: A review of sources, prevalence and behaviour of microplastics in the atmosphere. EcoSummit, Gold Coast Australia, 13-17 June, 2023.
O’Brien, S, Rauert, C., Ribeiro, F., Okoffo, E. D., Burrows, S. D., O’Brien, J. W., Wang, X., Wright, S. L., Thomas, K. V. Airborne emissions of microplastic fibres from domestic laundry dryers. EcoSummit, Gold Coast Australia, 13-17 June, 2023.
O’Brien, S, Rauert, C., Ribeiro, F., Okoffo, E. D., .Burrows, S. D., O’Brien, J. W., Wang, X., Wright, S. L., Thomas, K., V. Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust. EcoSummit, Gold Coast Australia, 13-17 June, 2023.
Awards and Prizes
- 2022 Queensland Mass Spectrometry Symposium People's Choice Award for Best Oral Presentation for Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust.
- 2022 QAEHS HDR Student Best Publication Award Second place for Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust published in Journal of Hazardous Materials.
- 2023 SETAC Asia-Pacific Student Research Grant towards her research project to look at the relationship between microplastics in road, dust and air.
