According to the results of a new study, the roads and the vehicles they use are responsible for 84 percent of the microplastics found in the atmosphere.
Researchers at Utah State University have examined various sources of atmospheric microplastic pollution found in the western US over a period of 14 months.
These microscopic pieces of plastic pollution are so pervasive that they affect how plants grow, float through the air we breathe, infiltrate the oceans, are found in the intestines of insects in Antarctica and even in the human bloodstream, the authors warned. the research.
The US team found that 84 percent of the microplastics in the atmosphere came from road dust, mainly tires, 11 percent from sea spray and 5 percent from agricultural land.
The study’s authors found that most atmospheric microplastics came from roads, with sea spray (when bottles and packages break) in second place.
Researchers at Utah State University examined several sources of atmospheric microplastic pollution found in the western US over a period of 14 months
Janice Brahney, Natalie Mahowald and colleagues examined the main sources of atmospheric microplastics and the locations where it is concentrated.
They found microplastics from land on the ocean’s surface and plastic from the ocean on land – suggesting it is spreading through the atmosphere.
Hot spots for terrestrial microplastic resources and accumulation included Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, India and the US, the study authors explained.
In general, it was estimated that the greatest concentration of atmospheric microplastics was above the ocean.
Depending on their size, microplastics remained in the atmosphere for about an hour to 6.5 days, the latter long enough to transport them to another continent.
Even the most remote continent on Earth, Antarctica, received microplastic pollution from the atmosphere, despite no microplastic emissions.
The findings suggest that even after atmospheric microplastics settle on land or in water, they can re-enter the atmosphere.
Understanding how microplastics move through global systems is essential to solving the problem, Brahney said.
“Plastic enters the atmosphere … not directly from trash cans or landfills as you might expect … but from old, decomposed waste making its way into large-scale atmospheric patterns,” the team explained.
Roads are a great source of atmospheric plastics, where car tires break up and launch into the sky due to strong vehicular turbulence.
Ocean waves are also full of insoluble plastic particles that used to be food containers, soda bottles, and plastic bags.
These ‘legacy plastic’ particles float to the top water layer and are churned by waves and wind and catapulted into the air.
Dust and agricultural sources for airborne plastic play a greater role in North Africa and Eurasia, while road-produced sources had a major impact in densely populated regions around the world.
These microscopic pieces of plastic pollution are so pervasive that they affect how plants grow, float through the air we breathe, infiltrate the oceans, are found in the intestines of insects in Antarctica and even in the human bloodstream, the authors warned. the research.
The US team found that 84 percent of the microplastics in the atmosphere came from road dust, mainly tires, 11% from sea spray and 5 percent from agricultural land.
This study is important, Brahney said, but it’s just the beginning.
“ Much more work is needed on this pressing issue to understand how different environments can affect the process – wet climates versus dry, mountainous areas versus flat areas, ” she said.
“The world hasn’t slowed down the production or use of plastic, so these questions are getting more urgent every year.”
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.