Microplastics are able to travel across continents, according to scientists, who found them in the pristine Pyrenees mountain air, 2,800 miles from their source.
These tiny particles of plastic pollution were originally produced in Africa and add to evidence microplastics have reached everywhere on Earth – from Antarctica to the North Pole.
The microplastic pollution crossed thousands of miles of continent and ocean, according to the team from the University of Birmingham.
Previous studies suggested plastic particles were transported at ‘regional scales’, but the new study suggests they cross continents in the Earth’s atmosphere.
It is still unclear how widespread this phenomenon is, according to the team.
Previous studies suggested plastic particles were transported at ‘regional scales’, but the new study suggests they cross continents in the Earth’s atmosphere
Microplastics are able to travel across continents, according to scientists, who found them in the pristine Pyrenees mountain air, 2,800 miles from their source
These tiny particles of plastic pollution were originally produced in Africa and add to evidence microplastics have reached everywhere on Earth – from Antarctica to the North Pole
The study, by Steve Allen and colleagues from the University of Birmingham, involved collecting atmospheric microplastics from high altitude locations.
They then worked to track their original source to see how far they journeyed.
Air containing the particles was found to have travelled an average of 2,800 miles in the week up to the point it arrived at the observatory.
The particles travelled from the west and south, over the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to reach the thin air above the Pyrenees.
As well as North Africa, the researchers say particles may also have arrived from North America and western Europe.
This suggests a ‘trans-continental and trans-oceanic transport through the free troposphere’, which is the layer of atmosphere above the clouds.
This means that even regions with little to no local plastic usage could be impacted by microplastic sources continents away.
The pollution included bits of polystyrene and other plastic, most of which comes predominantly from packaging.
Dr Allen said: ‘Previously detected in rivers, oceans, and snow, microplastic has now been found in the high-altitude air surrounding the Pic du Midi.’
The astronomical observatory is at the summit of the mountain and sits almost 9,500 feet above sea level.
For this study, the team analysed more than 10,000 cubic metres of air.
They calculated a microplastic concentration of around one particle in every four.
Dr Allen says it doesn’t impose a direct threat, but regardless, its presence is far from sources of pollution, which is ‘nonetheless surprising’.
‘It offers an explanation for their presence at the poles, on Mount Everest, or in other remote regions of our planet,’ he said.
The particles – less than five millimetres long – are invisible to the naked eye, with governments and campaigners focused on reducing proliferation.
They are driven mainly by concern for wildlife and worries over unsightly drinks bottles or abandoned fishing nets on beaches.
The microplastic pollution crossed thousands of miles of continent and ocean, according to the team from the University of Birmingham
Plastic bag usage has been cut in many parts of the world, and various projects are exploring how to gather up the floating waste in oceans.
But little has yet been done to deal with the ‘hidden risks’ of polluting particles humans cannot see – known as microplastics.
They also come from cleaning and cosmetic products, tyres and fibres shed from tumble driers and washing machines.
Microplastics are in every environmental system investigated to date – including record-breaking quantities in river sediments in the UK.
Finding them in the remote air over the Pyrenees came as a surprise to Dr Allen, who said the region is normally considered pristine.
‘The emerging threat of atmospheric microplastic pollution has prompted researchers to study areas previously considered beyond the reach of plastic.
‘Investigating the range of transport is key to understanding the global extent of this problem,’ Dr Allen said.
Their occurrence in the ‘free troposphere’ – the lowest region of Earth’s atmosphere – shows they can travel further than previously feared.
‘It also indicates a potential risk to environmental and human health due to absorbed chemicals and bacteria or virus being transported long distances to pristine locations and vulnerable areas,’ said Dr Allen.
The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk