Airborne microplastics during the demolition activity in post-earthquake urban environments in southeastern Türkiye
Microchemical Journal, cilt.230, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 230
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.microc.2026.119869
- Dergi Adı: Microchemical Journal
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Index Islamicus, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Airborne microplastic, Ambient air, Demolition, Earthquake, Rubble waste
- İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet
Özet
On February 6, 2023, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of Mw 7.7 struck southern and central Türkiye, as well as northern and western Syria, followed by a second major earthquake of Mw 7.6. These earthquakes resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, and approximately 820,000 independent units and 279,000 buildings had either collapsed or sustained severe damage, necessitating urgent demolition. Moreover, these demolition activities had additional environmental impacts. In this study, air samples collected on filters during demolition activities were collected from severely affected cities, including Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Hatay, Gaziantep, and Kahramanmaraş, to determine the composition of microplastics (MPs) using Raman spectroscopy. The overall mean concentration measured across the five cities was 48.0 ± 22.2 MP/m3. The dominance of fragments and fibers (83%) is consistent with a mixed contribution from mechanical degradation and home textile-derived aerosols, though morphology alone cannot confirm specific sources. The particle size distributions were broad, indicating that particles smaller than 1 mm were predominant. Multiple polymer types were identified, with polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester/PET and polyvinyl chloride being found to be predominant. The absence of significant inter-city differences suggests broadly comparable emission characteristics across the sampled locations, possibly reflecting similar demolition practices region-wide.