Abstract
Over the last few years, microplastics in indoor air have increasingly gained attention; however, the rates, shapes, and polymer types of MPs are rarely discussed. In this study, we investigated the abundance and characteristics of microplastic suspended in ninety indoor environments in Mosul City, Iraq, with three replicates at each site for six months. Kindergartens had the highest average MPs among sampling sites (20.2±1.7 MPs/ m3), while the lowest average was in the medical clinics at about (2.7±0.8 MPs/ m3). The majority of indoor suspended samples contained MPs in the form of fibers. In suspended samples collected from indoor environments, the colour of MPs was mainly transparent, followed by black, red, blue, green, and yellow. The main types of polymers identified were polystyrene (PS, 40%), polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 25%), polypropylene (PP, 15%), polyethylene (PE, 14%), polyamide (PA, 5%), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC, 1%). Among the most common MPs polymer types found in samples are PS, PET, and PP because they are used in various materials, such as fabrics, furniture, carpets, packaging, and synthetic fibers. The results were statistically analyzed using Excel 2019. Statistically significant differences were found between each site and the others, except between shops, hospital shops, and offices, as between pharmacies and medical clinics, which were not significant. The similarity in terms of population density, furniture, and the lack of carpets and curtains might explain the insignificant difference between these sites.
