Microplastics and tyre wear particles in urban runoff from different urban surfaces

Urban runoff is an important conveyor of microplastics (MPs) and tyre wear particles (TWP) to receiving waters. However, knowledge of contributions by surfaces within land use type/activities is currently limited. To address this knowledge gap, runoff samples were collected simultaneously during three rainfall events in October and November 2020 at three locations in Luleå, Sweden, with different urban surfaces (parking lot, road and roof). The occurrence of MPs (by number and estimated mass) and TWP (mass) were determined using μ-FTIR and Pyr-GC/MS, respectively. MPs and TWP were found at all sites in all events, with large variations between events and sites. The highest concentrations of MPs (number) and TWP were found in road runoff followed by parking lot runoff and roof runoff. The mass concentrations of MPs did not follow the same pattern and were generally highest at the parking lot, highlighting the importance of reporting data as both mass and particle numbers to derive a complete overview of MPs and TWP behaviour. Polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyester accounted, on average, for 99 % of MP polymers (by mass and number) at all sites with common sources, including traffic (vehicle wear and tear) and littering. MPs in the <75 μm fraction contributed >50 % of the total number of MPs in parking lot runoff, >58 % in roof runoff and > 90 % in road runoff.