The term microplastics refers to plastic particles that measure less than five millimeters. According to an analysis released by the World Wildlife Fund, people normally consume up to 5 grammes of plastic per week.
“The size of the microplastics is extremely important because they get into the smallest fish and invertebrates, which are then consumed by larger fish,” says Flinders conservation biologist Karen Burke Da Silva, the senior author of the study.
Scientists are still trying to figure out the answer to the question, “What does ingesting microplastics do to humans?” Microplastics are everywhere, in our food, water, air, etc. So far, there has been no incidence of harm to humans, but they definitely affect aquatic life. Studies find that in fish and other marine life, microplastics disrupt reproductive systems, stunt growth, diminish appetite, cause tissue inflammation and liver damage, and alter feeding behavior.
Scientists only recently discovered that dust carries “substantial amounts of microplastics.”
“Plastic is falling out of the sky into everything,” says Janice Brahney, a scientist at Utah State University, who stumbled onto plastics while she was studying how winds spread nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus across the western U.S.
“What should be imprinted on the broader public view is although we’re only noticing this problem now, it is not a new problem. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. There’s so much that we don’t know, it’s really difficult to fully comprehend the implications of plastics that are absolutely everywhere.” She continues.
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