The scientific community
is only in its infancy
of examining the process,
of how micro-plastics
get sucked up
into the atmosphere,
then scattered around
the world, in some form
of precipitation.
A new study revealed
that high levels
of micro-plastics
have been detected
in some of the
most remote regions
of the world.
Published in the journal
Science Advances,
this was the first
international study
on micro-plastics
found in snow.
It was conducted by
the Alfred Wegener
Institute in Germany.
Melanie Bergmann,
the lead scientist,
and her team,
found that snow,
from the Alps
to the Arctic,
contained high levels
of plastic fragments.
This raises questions
about environmental
and health effects
of exposure to the
airborne plastic plastics.
"I was really astonished
concerning the high
concentrations,"
said co-author
Gunnar Gerdts,
a marine microbiologist
at the Alfred Wegener
Institute.
Micro-plastics come
mainly from industrial
economies where rubber
and paints are used.
The tiny fragments
end up in the sea,
where they're
broken down by waves,
and ultraviolet radiation,
before absorbing
into the atmosphere.
From there, the plastic
particles are captured
from the air, during
cloud development,
and can drift across
the Earth via jet streams.
At some point,
the plastic particles
act as a nucleus
around supercooled
droplets, that can
condense, and travel
to Earth as snow:
Lead scientist Bergmann
said, there's an
"urgent need for research
on human and animal health
effects focusing on
airborne microplastics."
"Once we have determined
that large quantities
of micro-plastic
can also be transported
by the air, it naturally
raises the question
as to whether and
how much plastic
we are inhaling,"
she said,
"raising the question
of whether breathing
in these particles
might increase the risk
of suffering respiratory
and lung diseases."
The study's sampling sites
were icebergs in the Arctic,
between Greenland
and Svalbard,
which averaged
1,760 particles per liter
of melted snow,
with one approaching
14,600 particles per liter.
The highest concentration
of all, 154,000 particles
per liter, was found
in new snow from
the Bavarian Alps !
Bergmann identified
many different plastics
in the samples:
(1)
Varnishes and paints
used to coat structures,
ships, automobiles,
and oil rigs;
(2)
Rubber particles from car tires;
(3)
Ffibers from synthetic clothing,
and
(4)
Mass-produced synthetics,
such as polyethylene, PVC,
polystyrene, and polycarbonate.
More research is needed
on the potential of an
airborne micro-plastics
health "apocalypse".