(Jointly authored by Arshad M. Khan and Meena Miriam Yust)
There
is something about plastic pollution that seems almost insidious. No
matter where we go, land or sea, that plastic bottle is with us, often
discarded carelessly.
By now, everyone is probably aware of the dangers of plastics to ocean wildlife. Swallowed inadvertently, pieces can lodge in the stomachs of whales giving them a fake feeling of being full that reduces their food intake until they die of malnutrition. And they are far from the only ones for scientists have recently uncovered a new threat.
During
stormy weather, sea spray releases microplastic particles into the
air. Norwegian and German scientists have learned that they may
originate from land but they are carried over to the ocean atmosphere to
be then dispersed by wind currents.
Their experimental procedure employed two devices mounted at a 12 meter height at the prow of their research vessel to pump in the air to be analyzed. The findings published recently in Nature Communications (Vol. 14, Article #3707) note their most northern destination as Bear Island in the Svalbard archipelago.
Plastics
from textile fibers were omnipresent. Tire wear particles abraded
during braking and even driving were also common. These find their way
into the sea through rivers and rain. Ships are another source as epoxy
resins used in paints and coatings plus polyurethane gradually erode
polluting the sea. In fact, the study authors claim ships are the main
problem.
Most tap water all over the world contains microplastics which we inevitably ingest. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have given us hope against this pervasive problem. They recently discovered that adding tannins (found in fruits) to wood dust can produce an effective filter of microplastics. Testing demonstrated a remarkable ability of the filter to capture up to 99.9% of microplastic particles in water. It also proved effective against a broad spectrum of plastic types, and successfully reduced microplastic accumulation in mouse organs. Findings were published in the journal Advanced Materials (June 6, 2023). Researchers also believe this technology can be scaled up affordably.
That microplastics have been found in a majority of humans tested should come as no surprise. A recent study has found microplastics in five heart regions and in the blood. They have previously been found to be embedded deep in lung tissue.
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