Microplastics: An Invisible Threat

Today, plastic is so widely used that you can pretty much find plastic pollution wherever there are humans. However, the problem reaches further than you can readily see. Microplastics, which are plastics less than 5 mm in length, are now being found in the most pristine natural areas.

Microplastics in the US National Parks

A recent study conducted in some of the National Parks in the south and central western US found “that over 1,000 metric tons of microplastic particles fall into these protected areas in the western USA each year. That’s the same as over 120 million plastic water bottles” (Leeney, 2020). Think about this: in an area that amounts to just 6% of the land in the US, there are 120 million plastic water bottles worth of plastic. And these areas are supposed to be the most pristine in the US.

This same study also “confirmed through 32 different particle scans that roughly 4% of the atmospheric particles analyzed from these remote locations were synthetic polymers” (Imster, 2020).

How did the microplastic get into the national park?

Microplastics can be either primary or secondary. Primary microplastics started out small, whereas secondary plastics have broken down from larger plastics. Over two-thirds of microplastics that were found in the study were microfibers from synthetic fabric (Leeney, 2020). Microplastics are light enough that they can be picked up easily by the wind and lifted into the atmosphere. Then, when it rains, the water washes the plastics out of the atmosphere bringing them down onto the ground below, which could be in a national park.

Why are microplastics in water in the environment a problem?

In the environment, plastics have been found to alter the way in which soil absorbs and releases heat. Microplastics also harm the microorganisms that live in the soil (Andrew, 2020). When microorganisms are negatively affected, the overall health of the soil deteriorates, negatively affecting plant growth. Plants can also take up microplastics from the soil, providing one way for these microplastics to enter the food chain (Sajjad et al., 2022). Once in the food chain, microplastics can have a variety of effects on organisms.

The microplastics themselves are only the beginning. When in the atmosphere, DDT(and other harmful compounds) accumulates on microplastics (Knauss, 2021). Because of this, even if a country has banned DDT, they can still experience the effects of DDT pollution since not all countries have banned it. Additionally, when an animal inevitably eats microplastic, they will also eat the harmful chemicals on it.

All in all, not a whole lot is known about all of the effects of microplastic pollution. This is especially dangerous because we are polluting the environment without knowing all of the consequences of what we are doing.

Microplastics and humans

Not only are microplastics in our environment, but they are also in our bodies. People swallow about 5 grams of plastic each week, and the largest source of this plastic is drinking water (O'Malley, 2022). In fact, a study conducted by OrbMedia in which tap water samples were taken in various countries found that 94% of tap water in the US is contaminated with microplastics. This percentage was the highest of any of the test countries(other countries in which data was collected include Lebanon and India) (Carrington, 2017). While studies on the full effects of consuming plastic water are still being conducted, it surely can not be good that we are ingesting these plastics. Plus, we have already found that phthalates, which make plastic more flexible, and BPA, which is in clear, hard plastic, in microplastics are endocrine disruptors (Knauss, 2021). This means that various chemicals in plastics we are unknowingly consuming increase our chances of getting cancer.

Summary

Just because we can not see microplastics, does not mean that they do not have negative consequences on us and our environment. Furthermore, because of their size, it can be very hard to control microplastic pollution, so more research is needed to help us gain control of the problem. For now, it is important to recognize that there is a problem in the first place to raise awareness and encourage further research projects.

Sources

Andrew, T. (2020, June 26). Behind the Forecast: Plastic rain? Yea... it's a thing. WAVE 3. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.wave3.com/2020/06/26/behind-forecast-plastic-rain-yea-its-thing/

Carrington, D. (2017, September 5). Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals. The Guardian. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals

Imster, E. (2020, June 25). Plastic rain: More than 1,000 tons of microplastic rain onto western US | Earth. EarthSky. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://earthsky.org/earth/microplastic-rain-western-us/

Knauss, C. (2021, August 18). Why is There Plastic in Our Rain? YouTube. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUAaurZKi6U

Leeney, R. H. (2020, August 5). Plastic rain. Save Our Seas Foundation. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://saveourseas.com/plastic-rain/

O'Malley, I. (2022, June 15). 'It is raining plastic': Scientists find microplastic in rain in Rocky Mountains. The Weather Network. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/it-is-raining-plastic-scientists-find-microplastic-in-rain-in-rocky-mountains

Sajjad, M., Huang, Q., Khan, S., Khan, M. A., Liu, Y., Wang, J., Lian, F., Wang, Q., & Guo, G. (2022, February 12). Microplastics in the soil environment: A critical review,. Science Direct. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352186422000724