Falling snow contains microplastics
Scientists detect microplastics in the snow of the alps and arctic islands.
Minute plastic particles, mostly the remains of garbage drifting in the ocean, broken apart by waves and UV-light, have been found in the sea, drinking water and even inside animals. Now researchers of the Alfred-Wegener Institute in Germany and the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research have been able to show for the first time that such microplastics are also distributed by the atmosphere and carried to the most remote locations.
Microplastics were detected in the Swiss Alps, on drifting ice sheets and even on the arctic island of Spitzbergen. A new, standardized method using infrared microscopy shows a wide variety of different synthetic materials, including varnish and nitrile rubber from tubes and car tires.
It is assumed, that the airborne microplastic may also be inhaled. The health effects, if any, of this inhalation on animals and humans is not currently clear.
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