Millions of small pieces of plastic revolve around it Earthatmosphere and traveling across continents, according to a new study. This environmental problem is likely to worsen and could have serious effects on human health, experts say.
Microplastics are less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) long, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). And previous studies have shown that these microscopic particles can be found in Ocean, bottled water and even our poop, but so far, the atmospheric section of this “plastic cycle” had been poorly understood.
The new study revealed thousands of tons of microplastics already in the atmosphere, with roads being the biggest contributor. Computer modeling has also revealed how particles are transported over long distances around the globe and have shown that nowhere is it safe from pollution.
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The researchers said their findings highlight that microplastics are one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.
“Microplastics have the ability to disrupt almost every ecosystem, not to mention human health,” lead author Janice Brahney, an environmental scientist at Utah State University, told Live Science. “We are just beginning to understand the scope of pollution, regardless of the impact.”
In terms of importance, the problem is right up there climate change and it’s somewhat intertwined with it, “since plastics are a product of fossil fuels,” Brahney said.
Entering the atmosphere
To find out how microplastics are transported into and through the atmosphere, Brahney and her colleagues measured the fall of airborne particles as a result of both gravity and rain in places in the western United States over a 14-month period. Based on their findings, they estimated that approximately 1,100 tons (1,000 metric tons) of microplastics are in the atmosphere above the western United States.
The team was “absolutely shocked” by the levels of microplastic they found, Brahney said.
Researchers have predicted that cities will be the biggest source of microplastic air pollution, but plastic analysis has shown that roads are the biggest culprit, responsible for 84% of atmospheric microplastics.
“When you think that plastic, like dust, has to enter the atmosphere from a certain physical force, it makes more sense,” Brahney said. “Roads – and, more importantly, cars that travel on roads – provide mechanical energy to move particles into the atmosphere.”
Other sources included the oceans (11%) and agricultural soil dust (5%), both of which involved strong winds pushing particles into the air. However, researchers suspect that all three of these sources are likely to contribute to different levels of pollution in other parts of the world.
Surrounding the planet
Using the data they collected, the researchers created computer models to find out how microplastics are transported on the planet and what areas are likely hot spots for the highest levels of microplastics, such as Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, India and the United States. State.
“The atmosphere is one of the reasons microplastics are so widespread,” Brahney said. “It has the potential to transport plastics to disparate locations, on continents and to truly remote locations, which would otherwise be unaffected by human pollution.”
The researchers found that the plastic particles could remain in the air for between an hour and 6.5 days. This upper limit is enough time for trans-continental transport, which means even places like Antarctic they are at risk of pollution despite the fact that they do not have direct sources of plastic.
“No one is protected from this source of pollution,” Brahney said. “We can deliver our garbage to other countries, but it will only come back to haunt us.”
Next steps
The problem of microplastics in the atmosphere could also get worse.
“Plastic needs some time to decompose into the tiny fragments we see in the atmosphere,” Brahney said. “Since we do not have efficient means of handling plastic waste, and the problem is getting worse, it is possible that more plastics will reach our environment in the future and therefore our atmosphere.”
Another important way of research, Brahney said, is to discover how plastics in the air can affect human health.
“Inhaling any particle can have negative health consequences,” Brahney said. “But at the moment, we don’t know if plastics are more or less harmful than other natural aerosols.”
The study was published online on April 12 in the journal The works of the National Academy of Sciences.
Originally published on Live Science.