Microplastics Are Blowing in the Wind

Because the new study included smaller sizes of particles than previous studies, the researchers found more plastic particles overall; this bears out a recurring trend in microplastics research findings that the smaller the size of the particles, the more of them there are. When comparing only the size ranges examined in the 2015 Paris study, Allen and her colleagues found a similar amount of microplastic, which was unexpected given the disparate environments of the two studies. Many more samples from across the world—as well as lab experiments that see how different shapes, types and sizes of plastics behave in different meteorological conditions—are needed to understand the full scope of the situation, including how much microplastics humans might be inhaling.

Source: www.scientificamerican.com