The widespread pollution from the release of microfibers is an emerging concern as they are a potential threat to the environment. Their identification in samples in terms of quantity and pathways remain a challenge as contamination can be a major source of error. A systematic study of synthetic microfibers (MFs) has been carried out in different environmental compartments of an urban area and in the surface waters of the northwestern Mediterranean.

The quantity, size and type of polymer of MFs were recorded in air, in waste water from a domestic washing machine, at the inlet and outlet of the Haliotis urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Nice (Provence Alpes Côte-d'Azur, France) and in a variety of coastal and offshore areas. The results showed that MFs released by clothes during washing (on average of 13 x10⁶ MFs per m³) are an important emitter of microplastics. Despite its high removal efficiency (87.5% to 98.5%) by Haliotis, a large number of MFs, estimated at 4.3 billion, enter the marine environment daily from the treatment plant. The attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) characterization of the raw materials showed that 14 to 50% of fibers are synthetic, mostly polyester and polyamide, the remaining 35 to 72% being natural polymers (cotton, wool) or manufactured by processing natural polymers (especially cellulose). MFs were found in all environmental compartments studied and appear to be widespread in coastal and offshore surface waters with concentrations varying from 2.6 x 10³ to 3.70 x 10⁴ m^-3. The sources of MFs in the marine environment are multiple, with laundry fibers discharges from WWTP and the atmospheric transport of urban fibers are among the main pathways.

由于释放超细纤维会对环境造成潜在威胁，因此引起广泛的污染，这已成为人们日益关注的问题。由于污染可能是误差的主要来源，因此在样品中根据数量和途径进行鉴定仍然是一个挑战。合成微纤维（MFs）的系统研究已在市区的不同环境区隔和西北地中海的地表水中进行。

在尼斯（Provence AlpesCôte-d'Azur，法国）以及各种沿海和近海地区。结果表明，衣物在洗涤过程中释放的MFs（平均每m ³ 13 x 10 ⁶ MFs）是微塑料的重要排放源。尽管Haliotis的去除效率很高（87.5％至98.5％），但每天有大量的MF（估计为43亿）从处理厂进入海洋环境。原材料的衰减全反射傅立叶变换红外光谱（ATR-FTIR）表征表明，纤维中14％至50％是合成纤维，大部分是聚酯和聚酰胺，其余35％至72％是天然聚合物（棉，羊毛）或通过加工天然聚合物（尤其是纤维素）制造。在研究的所有环境隔室中都发现了MF，它们似乎在沿海和近海地表水中普遍存在，浓度范围从2.6 x 10 ³到3.70 x 10 ⁴ m^-3。海洋环境中的MF来源多种多样，其中污水处理厂排放的洗衣纤维和城市纤维在大气中的传输是主要途径。