A A group of citizen scientists is recruited to study the levels of microplastic air pollution in people’s homes.
During the first phase of the study, researchers from the University of Leeds will work with 40 families from Bradford, West Yorkshire, to measure the levels of microplastics caught in sampling devices in their homes.
??IUnderstanding the pollution levels in our homes is important as this is where we spend most of our time …??
Dr. Kirsty Pringle, University of Leeds
The families will be active participants in the study who will be involved in the analysis the microplastic fragments to try to identify the sources of the pollution. A microplastic particle is smaller than five millimeterwhere a millimeter is one thousandth of a Meter. As part of the project Citizen scientists are trained to use microscopes.
First study on microplastics at home
Previous research has shown the build-up of microplastics in the oceans, food, and drinking water. This is the first study of the extent of microplastic pollution in the home environment.
Dr. Kirsty Pringle, Research Associate at the the Institute for Climate and Atmosphere science at the University of Leeds, said: ??Large amounts of plastic are produced and disposed of every day, and we now know that this has caused microplastic particles to accumulate throughout the natural environment.
?? While researchers have found microplastics in very remote locations, even in the ?? clean ?? Air on the Alps, very few people have looked at plastics from the air closer to home.
In this project we will study microplastics in the air in people’s homes. IUnderstanding the pollution levels in our homes is especially important as this is where we spend most of the time, so the health effects are likely to be more severe.
There is some speculation that much of the microplastics could come from textiles and that their distribution could be affected by ventilation and the age of the building.
“Microplastics get into the lungs”
Dr. Mark Taylor, R.Research Officer and Textile technologist in the School of design at the University of Leeds, which is also involved in the study, said: ??We all have textiles at home, but we don’t really know which of them contribute the most to microplastics in the air and how much this is a problem. Research into the health effects of breathing microplastics is still very young. M.All of the particles are small enough to get past ours Body? Naturally defense and enter our lungs.
??If they can get into the lungs, they can pose some health risk. But we really need to understand more about what types of microplastics are in the air in our homes before we can understand the health effects.??
The research study, Which is funded by United Kingdom R.esearch and Iinnovationis used by scientists at the Resource Center for Air Quality Management the University of the West of England (UWE)with the citizen Scientists in Bristol are also participating in the study.
Dr. Ben Williams from UWE Bristol, said: ??This study focuses on citizens who are expanding the field of knowledge and filling an important policy gap in this emerging area.
The University of Leeds is part of the Microfibre Consortium, whose aim is “… to develop practical solutions for the textile industry to minimize fiber fragmentation and release into the environment from textile manufacturing and product life cycle”.
Citizen science at the center of research
UKRI has invested £ 1.5m in five separate citizen science research projects addressing key issues such as mental health, migration and microplastics in the air.
Tom Saunders, UKRI’s Head of Public Engagement, said: ?? Over the past year, science, research, and innovation have become something people talk about every day as we’ve seen how research directly affects our daily lives.
?? In these exciting new projects, researchers and communities will work together on a range of topics affecting our societies, from plastic pollution to mental health, and help people from outside the research and innovation system share their unique experiences and perspectives in the research process and help them develop new skills and knowledge that they can use in their own lives.“”
additional Information
Top image: An image of a microplastic layer taken by an electron microscope. The fiber is 580 microns long (half a millimeter) and is a polyester Fiber. Microfiber are a subset of microplastics – and are far more likely to be in the air than larger plastic fragments. Image: University of Leeds.
For more information, please contact David Lewis at the University of Leeds Press Office at d.lewis@leeds.ac.uk.
