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When Size Matters – Textile Microfibers into the Environment

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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea (ICMPMS 2019)

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Abstract

Microplastics (MP from now on) are synthetic polymers (<5 mm) that have been widely found across the environment, converting these particles in an emerging and fast-growing concern. Any plastic product can contribute to the microplastic pollution, meaning that the sources are diffuse and intrinsically diverse. Within these sources, textile microfibers (MFs from now on) have been predominantly identified in water, [1, 2] atmospheric [3, 4] and soil environments, [5, 6] and also in products for human consumption [7, 8]. For this reason, MFs are considered as one of the most important primary MP sources, i.e., emitted to the environment in a MP size [9].

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of “INDITEX S.A.” and the “Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya” for funding this project.

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Correspondence to Francisco Belzagui .

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Belzagui, F., Gutiérrez-Bouzán, C., Álvarez-Sánchez, A., Vilaseca, M. (2020). When Size Matters – Textile Microfibers into the Environment. In: Cocca, M., et al. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. ICMPMS 2019. Springer Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45909-3_13

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