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TRIBUNBATAM.id - A study found the large quantities of microplastics in the Arctic and the Alps.
This finding shows that microplastics can spread through the air to several locations on earth, even to the most remote locations.
Quoted from the Independent, scientists from the Helmholtz Polar and Sea Study Center examined snow from various locations, including on the Svalbard islands in Norway. The research was published in the journal Science Advances.
The research team consisting of German and Swiss scientists found 14,400 microplastics per liter in samples taken at Svalbard.
The researchers believe that microplastics are flown through the air over the very long distances.
Precipitation or humidity then causes the particles to fall to the ground in an isolated area.
These findings increase the possibility of plastic pollution in the air, as well as on land and sea.
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Microplastics are pieces that are less than 5 millimeters in size that arise from man-made materials.
In that research, the scientists found the highest concentration of microplasics in the Bavarian Alps.
They found 154,000 particles per liter in snow samples that collected near the rural roads in Bavaria.
This research shows that fragments can lift off in a similar way such as dust and pollen.
A biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Martin Wagner said, the very high concentrations could be related to the methods that being used by the researchers.
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The research method used, allows them to identify the particles as small as 0.011 millimeters or smaller than the width of a human hair.
"This finding is very important because so far, the most research has only looked at the microplastics that are much larger in size," Wagner said.
"Based on that, I will conclude that we greatly underestimate the real level of microplastics in the environment," he continued.
In previous research, researchers found microplastics in the air of Paris, Tehran and Dongguan.
Marine Ecologist, Bergmann says that many plastic samples were found in previous research, and may have been carried by the wind to the North Pole through the atmosphere.
"After we determined that large quantities of the microplastics can also be transported through the air, a question arises, whether and how much plastic do we have inhaled?" said Bergmann. (*)
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