Nanoplastic in the environment
From: Empa Materials Science and
Technology
By Noe Waldmann
January 25, 2022 -- In a large-scale
fundraising campaign, popular YouTubers like Mister Beast and Mark Rober are
currently trying to rid the oceans of almost 14,000 tonnes of plastic waste.
That's about 0.15 per cent of the amount that ends up in the oceans every year.
But it's not just our waters that are full of plastic. A new study shows that
the spread of nanoplastic through the air is a more widespread problem than
previously thought.
In a new study, Empa researcher Dominik
Brunner, together with colleagues from Utrecht University and the Austrian
Central Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics, is investigating how much
plastic is trickling down on us from the atmosphere. According to the study,
some nanoplastics travel over 2000 kilometers through the air. According to the
figures from the measurements about 43 trillion miniature plastic particles
land in Switzerland every year. Researchers still disagree on the exact number.
But according to estimates from the study, it could be as much as 3,000 tonnes
of nanoplastics that cover Switzerland every year, from the remote Alps to the
urban lowlands. These estimates are very high compared to other studies,
and more research is needed to verify these numbers
The study is uncharted scientific
territory because the spread of nanoplastics through the air is still largely
unexplored. The result of Brunner's research is the most accurate record of air
pollution by nanoplastics ever made. To count the plastic particles, Brunner
and his colleagues have developed a chemical method that determines the
contamination of the samples with a mass spectrometer.
Extreme
conditions
The scientists studied a small area at
an altitude of 3106 meters at the top of the mountain "Hoher
Sonnenblick" in the "Hohe Tauern" National Park in Austria. An
observatory of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics has been
located here since 1886. The observatory is run by meteorologist and Arctic
researcher Elke Ludewig. Since research began here in the late 19th century,
the observatory has only been non-operational on four days. The research
station also served as a base for the study on the spread of nanoplastics in
remote areas.
Every day, and in all weather
conditions, scientists removed a part of the top layer of snow around a marker
at 8 AM and carefully stored it. Contamination of the samples by nanoplastics
in the air or on the scientists' clothes was a particular challenge. In the
laboratory, the researchers sometimes had to remain motionless when a colleague
handled an open sample.
The origin of the tiny particles was
traced with the help of European wind and weather data. The researchers could
show that the greatest emission of nanoplastics into the atmosphere occurs in
densely populated, urban areas. About 30% of the nanoplastic particles measured
on the mountain top originate from a radius of 200 kilometers, mainly from
cities. However, plastics from the world's oceans apparently also get into the
air via the spray of the waves. Around 10% of the particles measured in the
study were blown onto the mountain by wind and weather over 2000 kilometers –
some of them from the Atlantic.
Nanoparticles
in the bloodstream
It
is estimated that more than 8300 million tonnes of plastic have been produced
worldwide to date, about 60% of which is now waste. This waste erodes through
weathering effects and mechanical abrasion from macro- to micro- and
nanoparticles. But discarded plastic is far from the only source. Everyday use
of plastic products such as packaging and clothing releases nanoplastics.
Particles in this size range are so light that their movement in the air can best
be compared to gases.
Besides plastics, there are all kinds of
other tiny particles. From Sahara sand to brake pads, the world is buzzing
through the air as abrasion. It is as yet unclear whether this kind of air
pollution poses a potential health threat to humans. Nanoparticles, unlike
microparticles, do not just end up in the stomach. They are sucked deep into
the lungs through respiration, where their size may allow them to cross the
cell-blood barrier and enter the human bloodstream. Whether this is harmful or
even dangerous, however, remains to be researched.
https://www.empa.ch/web/s604/nanoplastik-in-den-alpen
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