UFZ researchers detect microscopic plastic particles on alpine glaciers with the help of mountaineers.
UFZ researchers detect microscopic plastic particles on alpine glaciers with the help of mountaineers.
Nanoplastics - plastic particles smaller than 1 µm - are widely dispersed because of their low weight. A research team coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has now published an article in Scientific Reports that shows the extent to which glaciers at an altitude of more than 3,000 m in the Alps are polluted by nanoplastics. The researchers relied on citizen science to collect the data. Mountaineers collected the samples on the glaciers.
Nanoplastics are created primarily through the degradation of macro- and microplastics in the environment - through abiotic and biotic decomposition processes such as enzymes, oxidation, hydrolysis, and mechanical abrasion. The contribution of macro- and microplastics to environmental pollution has been well researched. However, far less is known about nanoplastic particles, which may pose even greater risks to humans. "Nanoplastics are particularly concerning because, unlike microplastics, they are not filtered out. Humans can easily inhale the particles, which - because their small size - can penetrate membranes and enter the bloodstream", says Dr Dušan Materic, the scientific lead of the project and chemist at the UFZ.
Read more at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Image: Mountaineers take samples from a glacier. (Credit: Zoe Salt)
