The Elephant

The climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens

Topic: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Featured Articles:

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’

  2024-08-21 in The Guardian

Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight

  Tagged under: Health | Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Plastic


Related Articles (50)

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’

  2024-08-21 in The Guardian

Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight

  Tagged under: Health | Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Plastic


Landmark study links microplastics to serious health problems

  2024-03-06 in Nature

People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study. People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study.

  Tagged under: Health | Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Should I worry about microplastics?

  2024-02-04 in The Guardian

These tiny particles are polluting the planet, including our bodies. How bad for us are they really?

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Health


Average Liter of Bottled Water Contains 240,000 'Toxic' Plastic Particles

  2024-01-09 in Common Dreams

Scientists found that 90% of those particles were nanoplastics, particles less than a micrometer whose small size makes them potentially more dangerous than microplastics.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Fighting Dirty challenge over axing of pledge to test sewage sludge fertiliser for contaminants | Leigh Day

  2024-01-04 (or before) in leighday.co.uk

Fighting Dirty launches legal challenge to the Environment Agency for axing commitment to require agricultural fertiliser sewage sludge to be tested for microplastics and forever chemicals.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Pollution | PFAS aka Forever Chemicals | Activism


Microplastics found in clouds could affect weather and global temperatures

  2023-11-16 in The Guardian

Scientists in eastern China find 24 out of 28 water samples have plastic particles commonly seen in synthetic fibers and packaging

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation - Environmental Chemistry Letters

  2023-11-16 (or before) in Springer Verlag

Microplastic pollution is occurring in most ecosystem, yet their presence in high altitude clouds and their influence on cloud formation and climate change are poorly known. Here we analyzed microplastics in cloud water sampled at the summits of Japan mountains at 1300–3776 m altitude by attenuated total reflection imaging and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We observed nine microplastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyamide 6, polycarbonate, ethylene–propylene copolymer or polyethylene–polypropylene alloy, polyurethane, and epoxy r...

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Microplastic-eating plankton may be worsening crisis in oceans, say scientists

  2023-11-09 in The Guardian

Rotifers could be accelerating risk by splitting particles into thousands of potentially more dangerous nanoplastics

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Wildlife | Fish


EU to crack down further on microplastics after glitter ban

  2023-10-17 in The Guardian

The European Commission aims to cut plastic pellet pollution by 74% by the end of the decade

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Microplastics detected in clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains

  2023-10-09 in The Guardian

Findings regarding clouds above Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama highlight how microplastics are highly mobile

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Japan


Japanese scientists find microplastics are present in clouds | Environment News | Al Jazeera

  2023-09-29 (or before) in Al Jazeera

Japanese scientists have found between 6.7 and 13.9 pieces of microplastic in each litre of cloud water tested.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Middle East | Japan


The Invisible Assault of Microplastics: A Silent Problem Requiring Urgent Attention

  2023-09-27 (or before) in Tiredearth

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Road Hazard: Evidence Mounts on Toxic Pollution from Tires

  2023-09-26 (or before) in Yale E360

Researchers are only beginning to uncover the toxic cocktail of chemicals, microplastics, and heavy metals hidden in car and truck tires. But experts say these tire emissions are a significant source of air and water pollution and may be affecting humans as well as wildlife.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Wildlife


Microplastics are hidden in your home. Here’s how to avoid them.

  2023-08-27 (or before) in National Geographic

The air, water, and food in your home is full of tiny, microscopic plastic particles. Here’s where you can find the most common sources—and eliminate them.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Health


Microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, cause behavioral changes

  2023-08-26 (or before) in The University of Rhode Island

KINGSTON, R.I. — Aug. 30, 2023 — Plastics—in particular, microplastics—are among the most pervasive pollutants on the planet, finding their way into the air, water systems and food chains around the world. While the prevalence of microplastics in the environment is well known—as are their negative impacts on marine organisms—few studies have examined the potential […]

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


How microplastics end up in the marine atmosphere

  2023-08-16 (or before) in Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology

Microplastic particles are present in the marine atmosphere even in remote parts of the world. These tiny particles come from land sources but are also re-emitted into the atmosphere from the sea, a study by a team of German and Norwegian researchers led by Dr. Barbara Scholz-Böttcher of the University of Oldenburg has shown.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Nanoplastics Are Entering Our Bodies

  2023-07-22 by in Deep Green Resistance News Service

Plastic has become ubiquitous. Not just in use in our daily lives but in a pervasive form that it has entered our ecosystem and our bodies.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Microplastics found in every sample of water taken during the Ocean Race

  2023-06-05 in The Guardian

Concentrations of plastics in round-the-world race through remote ocean environments found to be up to 18 times higher than during previous event in 2017-18

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans


The potential for a plastic recycling facility to release microplastic pollution and possible filtration remediation effectiveness

  2023-05-28 (or before) in ScienceDirect.com

With current plastic production and the growing problem of global plastic pollution, an increase and improvement in plastic recycling is needed. There…

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Recycling can release huge quantities of microplastics, study finds

  2023-05-23 in The Guardian

Scientists find high levels of microplastics in wastewater from unnamed UK plant – and in air surrounding facility

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


How recycling centers could be making our plastics problem worse - The Washington Post

  2023-05-22 in The Washington Post

A study of one recycling facility in the United Kingdom estimated anywhere between 6 to 13 percent of the plastic processed could end up being released into water or the air as microplastics.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


What Is the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?

  2023-01-31 (or before) in Sustainable & Eco Friendly eCommerce Packaging | SR Mailing

The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is considered by many to be one of humanity’s biggest crimes against the planet – and really, just the name of it gives away the horror of what it actually is, considering the size of the Pacific Ocean. We talk a lot about what can be done to save the planet here at SR Mailing, and that’s because we’re absolutely passionate about it! The fact that there is so much to be done, and that there is so much that we can all be doing in our daily lives that can help us to save planet Earth from global warming and climate change. The issue, of course, is much, much bigger than...

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Greenhouse Gases | Climate Change | Pacific Ocean | Methane | Fish | Rivers | Whales and Dolphins | Wildlife | Economic Growth | Great Barrier Reef | Coral Reefs | California | South America | BP | Sea Level | Indonesia | Activism | India


Microplastics May Be a Significant Cause of Male Infertility

  2023-01-25 (or before) in National Center for Biotechnology Information

Due to the problematic degradation properties of plastics, the decomposition of plastic results in the formation of numerous microplastics (MPs), less than 5 mm in diameter. These MPs enter the soil and the ocean, eventually passing through the air, water, ...

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans


Exposure to environmental toxins may be root of rise in neurological disorders

  2022-10-23 in The Guardian

Doctors warn exposure to omnipresent yet poorly understood chemicals such as microplastics could play a role in dementia

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | PFAS aka Forever Chemicals


Microplastics found in human breast milk for the first time

  2022-10-07 in The Guardian

Exclusive: Researchers concerned over potential health impacts of chemical contaminants on babies

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Health | Women and Children


Scientists unveil bionic robo-fish to remove microplastics from seas

  2022-06-22 in The Guardian

Tiny self-propelled robo-fish can swim around, latch on to free-floating microplastics and fix itself if it gets damaged

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Fish


Plastitar: mix of tar and microplastics is new form of pollution, say scientists

  2022-06-13 in The Guardian

Researchers in Canary Islands coin term for new type of marine pollution they say could be leaking toxic chemicals into oceans

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Wildlife


Microplastics in sewage: a toxic combination that is poisoning our land | George Monbiot

  2022-05-26 in The Guardian

Policy failure and a lack of enforcement have left our waterways and farmland vulnerable to ‘forever chemicals’, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Farming | PFAS aka Forever Chemicals


Microplastics found deep underground in UK waters

  2022-03-21 in The Guardian

Fears for water quality as swimmers discover invisible microfibres in samples 400 feet underground

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Rivers


Nanoplastic pollution found at both of Earth’s poles for first time

  2022-01-21 in The Guardian

Tiny particles including tyre dust found in ice cores stretching back 50 years, showing global plastic contamination

  Tagged under: Arctic | Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Antarctic


Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Woldwide: Sources and Sinks

  2021-12-30 (or before) in American Chemical Society

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


The Ocean Race discovers microfibres are rife in Europe’s seas

  2021-12-30 (or before) by in theoceanrace.com

* Microfibres were found in every sample taken by sailors this summer * The Baltic Sea was found to have the highest levels of microplastics in Europe, double the amount in the Mediterranean * The impact of the climate crisis on Europe’s seas was also measured

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Sea Level


Analysis of Microplastics in Human Feces Reveals a Correlation between Fecal Microplastics and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Status | Environmental Science & Technology

  2021-12-22 (or before) in American Chemical Society

Fecal microplastics indicate human exposure and are correlated with inflammatory bowel disease.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


No mountain high enough: study finds plastic in ‘clean’ air

  2021-12-21 in The Guardian

Microplastics from Africa and North America found airborne in French Pyrenees, 2,877 metres above sea level

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Africa | Sea Level | France


Acute riverine microplastic contamination due to avoidable releases of untreated wastewater - Nature Sustainability

  2021-05-14 (or before) in Nature

The authors show how untreated wastewater laced with microplastics and raw sewage is routinely discharged into UK river flows that are too low to disperse the microplastics downstream. This discharge creates acute microplastic contamination of river beds that threatens biodiversity and the quality of riverine habitats.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Rivers | Sustainability


Microplastic contamination of river beds significantly reduced by catchment-wide flooding - Nature Geoscience

  2021-04-12 (or before) in Nature

Winter floods flushed out 70% of the microplastic contamination from riverbed sediments in northwest England, according to analyses of sediment samples from 40 rural and urban sites.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Rivers


Constraining the atmospheric limb of the plastic cycle

  2021-04-12 (or before) in PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

Microplastic particles and fibers generated from the breakdown of mismanaged waste are now so prevalent that they cycle through the earth in a manner akin to global biogeochemical cycles. In modeling the atmospheric limb of the plastic cycle, we show that most atmospheric plastics are derived from the legacy production of plastics from waste that has continued to build up in the environment. Roads dominated the sources of microplastics to the western United States, followed by marine, agriculture, and dust emissions generated downwind of population centers. At the current rate of increase of plastic production (∼4% per year)...

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


Magnets, vacuums and tiny nets: the new fight against microplastics

  2021-02-18 in The Guardian

Tiny plastics are turning up in the air, our drinking water and our placentas. Here’s how innovators are handling the crisis

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Fish | Wildlife | Innovation


Microplastics - Wikipedia

  2021-02-11 (or before) in Wikipedia

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics


There is an Alarming Amount of Microplastics in Farm Soil—and Our Food Supply

  2021-01-27 (or before) in Civil Eats - Promoting Critical Thought About Sustainable Agriculture And Food Systems

More microplastics are contaminating agricultural lands than oceans, impacting plant development and ending up in produce and people.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Farming


Device to curb microplastic emissions wins James Dyson award

  2020-09-17 in The Guardian

Tyre attachment designed by four students aims to reduce road transport pollution

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Greenhouse Gases


Microplastic pollution devastating soil species, study finds

  2020-09-01 in The Guardian

Researchers in China saw big reductions in organisms that play a crucial role in recycling carbon and nitrogen

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | China


Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs

  2020-08-17 in The Guardian

New technique expected to enable scientists to find accumulated microplastics in humans

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Health


Car tyres are major source of ocean microplastics – study

  2020-07-14 in The Guardian

Wind-borne microplastics are a bigger source of ocean pollution than rivers, say scientists

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Rivers


We constantly eat microplastics. What does that mean for our health?

  2019-12-05 (or before) by in New Scientist

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Health


Tracing the journey of microplastics in the Arctic

  2019-10-17 (or before) in Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology

By now it's well established that microplastics are a problem in the environment, even in the remotest parts of the planet. But where do different microplastics come from and how they get there, especially in the Arctic?

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Arctic


The biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters? Our car tires

  2019-10-02 in Los Angeles Times

Driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem. Turns out, rubber particles from car tires might be the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal waters, according to the most comprehensive study to date.

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | California


It's raining plastic: microscopic fibers fall from the sky in Rocky Mountains

  2019-08-13 in The Guardian

Discovery raises new questions about the amount of plastic waste permeating the air, water, and soil virtually everywhere on Earth

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Colorado State


Microplastic pollution revealed ‘absolutely everywhere’ by new research

  2019-03-07 in The Guardian

Contamination found across UK lakes and rivers, in US groundwater, along the Yantze river and Spanish coast, and harbouring dangerous bacteria in Singapore

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Rivers | Wildlife


Microplastic pollution in oceans is far worse than feared, say scientists

  2018-03-12 in The Guardian

A study reveals highest microplastic pollution levels ever recorded in a river in Manchester, UK and shows that billions of particles flooded into the sea from rivers in the area in just one year

  Tagged under: Microplastics and Nanoplastics | Oceans | Rivers | Sea Level


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