Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Jan 23, 2020 13:19:10 GMT 2
(.#A.017).- It's snowing plastic in the Alps and the Arctic.
It's snowing plastic in the Alps and the Arctic.
Friday, August 16, 2019.
WASHINGTON - (AFP) The white flakes on the slopes are not always what you believe.
Tiny plastic particles, transported by wind and then dumped by snow, have been detected in the Arctic and the Alps, according to a study that calls for urgent research to assess the health risks of this discovery.
We already knew that millions of tons of plastic waste move in rivers and oceans, where they gradually break down into smaller fragments under the action of waves and ultraviolet rays of the sun.
TRANSPORTED IN THE ATMOSPHERE
But a new study released Wednesday revealed that microplastic particles can also be transported long distances into the atmosphere.
These debris, less than 5 millimeters in length and then dumped far from their place of origin by precipitation, especially snow, have discovered scientists from the German Alfred Wegener Institute and the Swiss Institute for Snow Research. and avalanches.
"It's obvious that most of the microplastics in the snow come from the air," said Melanie Bergmann, lead author of the article in the American journal Science Advances.
Bergmann and her colleagues used an infrared imaging technique to analyze samples collected between 2015 and 2017 on floating ice in the Fram Strait off Greenland.
SANITARY RISKS ?
They were then compared to samples from the remote Swiss Alps and Bremen in northwestern Germany.
Microparticle concentrations in the Arctic were significantly lower than in European sites, but still significant.
Ms Bergmann pointed out that little work has been done to determine the effects of exposure to these particles.
"But once we have determined that large amounts of microplastics can also be transported by air, the question naturally arises as to whether and to what extent we inhale them," she said, pointing out need for urgent research on effects on human and animal health.
F I N.
It's snowing plastic in the Alps and the Arctic.
Friday, August 16, 2019.
WASHINGTON - (AFP) The white flakes on the slopes are not always what you believe.
Tiny plastic particles, transported by wind and then dumped by snow, have been detected in the Arctic and the Alps, according to a study that calls for urgent research to assess the health risks of this discovery.
We already knew that millions of tons of plastic waste move in rivers and oceans, where they gradually break down into smaller fragments under the action of waves and ultraviolet rays of the sun.
TRANSPORTED IN THE ATMOSPHERE
But a new study released Wednesday revealed that microplastic particles can also be transported long distances into the atmosphere.
These debris, less than 5 millimeters in length and then dumped far from their place of origin by precipitation, especially snow, have discovered scientists from the German Alfred Wegener Institute and the Swiss Institute for Snow Research. and avalanches.
"It's obvious that most of the microplastics in the snow come from the air," said Melanie Bergmann, lead author of the article in the American journal Science Advances.
Bergmann and her colleagues used an infrared imaging technique to analyze samples collected between 2015 and 2017 on floating ice in the Fram Strait off Greenland.
SANITARY RISKS ?
They were then compared to samples from the remote Swiss Alps and Bremen in northwestern Germany.
Microparticle concentrations in the Arctic were significantly lower than in European sites, but still significant.
Ms Bergmann pointed out that little work has been done to determine the effects of exposure to these particles.
"But once we have determined that large amounts of microplastics can also be transported by air, the question naturally arises as to whether and to what extent we inhale them," she said, pointing out need for urgent research on effects on human and animal health.
F I N.
