- Scientists have detected microplastic particles in the Arctic and the Alps. The microplastics had been carried by the wind and later washed out in the snow. The study has been published in the journal Science Advances.
- The high microplastic concentrations in snow has indicated significant contamination of the atmosphere.
- This has raised concerns about potential health risk to people and animals from inhalation of microplastic contaminated air. A recent report titled “New Plastics Economy Report”, had noted that an individual consumes about 250 grams annually.
- Microplastics are plastics which are less than five mm in diameter in size. Sources of micro plastic include clothing, cosmetics, industrial processes etc.
- Scientists have discovered micro plastics in a remote area of the Pyrenees Mountains, which runs between France and Spain. Other recent studies have found micro plastics in farmland soils near Shanghai, China, in the Galápagos Islands (a UNESCO world heritage site), and in rivers in the Czech Republic.
