Events

The widespread presence of microplastics in the environment has become an increasing focus of scientific research, regulatory attention and public concern. Microplastics have been detected in air, water, soils, food and drinking water, raising important questions about their sources, distribution and potential impacts on human and environmental health.

Understanding how microplastics are measured is equally important. Analytical approaches continue to evolve, yet significant challenges remain in generating reliable, comparable and defensible data. Differences in sampling, laboratory methods and quality assurance procedures can influence results, making standardisation a key priority for researchers, regulators and industry.

Atmospheric microplastics are an emerging area of study, with growing recognition that airborne transport may contribute to the widespread distribution of plastic particles across urban, rural and remote environments. As international regulators move towards greater scrutiny of microplastics, the need for robust monitoring and harmonised analytical methods is becoming increasingly important.

In this webinar, our speaker will explore:

• Sources, pathways and environmental implications of atmospheric microplastics.
• International regulatory developments and the increasing global focus on microplastics assessment and management.
• Analytical challenges associated with microplastics testing and interpretation of results.
• The strengths and limitations of current spectroscopic and thermo-analytical techniques.
• The importance of quality assurance and quality control, including contamination control, blank controls, validation, reference materials and proficiency testing.
• Findings from the Plastic Dust Cloud Project and what they reveal about the global distribution of atmospheric microplastics.
• The role of harmonised sampling and analytical approaches in improving data comparability across studies and regions.

Practical examples from the Plastic Dust Cloud Project will demonstrate how consistent sampling and analytical methods can be applied across diverse environments to generate meaningful and comparable datasets. The session will also highlight the challenges that remain in developing standardised approaches for microplastics assessment and their application in environmental decision-making.

This webinar will be particularly valuable for contaminated land practitioners, environmental consultants, regulators, scientists, researchers, policy makers and industry professionals. A live Q&A will follow, and the session will be recorded.