Microplastic Emissions and Polymer Contents Are Not the Same: Regarding a Confusion in Tatsii et al. “Do Microplastics Contribute to the Total Number Concentration of Ice Nucleating Particles?”
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: After reading with careful attention the recently published article entitled “Do Microplastics Contribute to the Total Number Concentration of Ice Nucleating Particles?” (Tatsii et al., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jd042827 ), improper assumptions were noticed. Whereas the simulation methodology is not questioned, the input data is simply wrong: emissions of tyre wear and brake wear particles were taken together with polymer contents in road markings (RM) and in polymer‐modified bitumen. The polymer contents in organic‐inorganic mixtures do not imply their emissions as microplastic. These are two different parameters that cannot be used interchangeably. In this commentary plentiful references from field and laboratory studies are provided that demonstrate significant overestimate of the total emissions and the relative contributions.
DOI: 10.1029/2025jd043777
Author: Tomasz E. Burghardt
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4417528728