Recently, according to foreign media reports, the results of a study published in the progress of science show that plastics are quietly affecting the whole world in an incredible way.
The study was led by Dr. Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener polar Oceanographic Institute. Bergmann and a team of scientists analyzed and compared snow samples from the Arctic, the Swiss Alps and some parts of Germany. On average, samples from Arctic ice floes contain 1760 micro plastic particles per liter, while the plastic content of samples in Europe is 20 times that.
Given that the Arctic is one of the most primitive and open areas on earth, the discovery of plastic particles is very worrying. The researchers believe that these micro plastics may have trekked from urban areas to the Arctic through wind and precipitation. Researchers also found plastic particles in Dongguan, Tehran, Iran, Paris and the French Pyrenees, all of which were carried here by atmospheric dust.
Over the years, there have been signs that plastic waste is causing damage to the environment and health of marine and terrestrial animals. But as plastics can travel freely in air, water and snow, it is not surprising that they can penetrate the human food chain. At present, these tiny particles have been found in human lungs and feces.
The researchers wrote in the paper: "the high plastic concentration detected in snow samples from the European continent to the Arctic indicates serious air pollution, and there is an urgent need to focus on the impact of plastic particles in the air on human and animal health."