Nanoplastic Pollution Is Found for the First Time at Both of the Earth’s Poles

For the first time ever, scientists from Utrecht University discovered nanoplastic pollution at the North and South poles. When scientists learned that hazardous contamination had been poisoning Greenland for 50 years, they assumed it was actually a bigger pollution problem than they had realized. The discovery of the pollution consisting of tire particles is baffling. The nanoparticles are thought to have reached Greenland through the winds from North America and Asia.

Nanoplastics are less dense and more dangerous than microplastics, which have been discovered around the world. Although the effects of both plastics on human health are unknown, researchers are concerned about the long-term implications for humans and animals. Also, plastic pollution in the oceans is anticipated to quadruple by 2040.

What the expert says about nanoplastic pollution

Research led by Dusan Materic from Utrecht University used a novel analytical approach to discover nanoparticles on both ends of the globe. The researchers took some samples of snow and ice, allowed them to evaporate, and then burnt the residue to identify the vapors. They used a smelling mechanism to determine whether the smell of the burning plastics was detected in the samples.

Materić and his colleagues examined 14-meter-deep Greenland ice cores and Antarctic sea cores. In Greenland, 13 nanograms of nano plastics per milliliter of melted ice were found, whereas Antarctica had four times the amount. “Now we know that nanoplastics are transported to these corners of the Earth in these quantities. This indicates that nanoplastics is really a bigger pollution problem than we thought,” Materić said.

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The researchers discovered the following sorts of plastic substances in the regions:

• Polyethylene is the most commonly used plastic nowadays, found in plastic bags, plastic films, and bottles, and it accounts for half of the plastics discovered in Greenland and Antarctica.
• Tire dust found in Greenland includes hazardous particles that may kill sea creatures and, according to scientific tests, can destroy human DNA.
• Polyethylene terephthalate is commonly used in food and beverage packaging, contributing to one-fifth of Greenland’s plastic pollution.

Materić said, “Our data suggest that nanoplastics pollution is not a new problem.” He added, “We are only now becoming aware of it because we have recently developed the right method to measure it.” Previously in 2021, his team managed to detect nanoplastics in the Alps.

“In the Greenland core, we see nanoplastics pollution happening all the way from the 1960s. So organisms in that region, and likely all over the world, have been exposed to it for quite some time now.”

Alert: Plastic poses a menace to all of us

For decades, plastic has been one of the chemical pollutants that has been expanding in the environment across the world. Animals mistaking it for food, blocking drainage systems, flooding low-lying areas, or just spoiling the aesthetics are all sad facts of life due to the ubiquity of plastic pollution.

Consider how many animals unwittingly consume and lick plastic garbage, not to mention how many humans unknowingly inhale microplastics. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), as reported in Daily Mail, plastic pollution is a “planetary emergency” equal to climate change.

Plastic pollution is found from the highest point of the Earth to the deepest ocean, from the most common to the most remote, suggesting that it is something of a great deal. According to the EIA, although dedicated multilateral agreements on tackling biodiversity loss and climate change have been in place for 30 years, no such instrument exists to fight plastic pollution, despite being one of the most prevalent and harmful pollutants on Earth.

However, the practical endeavor to reduce the use of plastic in everyday life has been underway since several years ago. Small examples are bringing your own shopping bag while doing groceries or minimizing the use of straws at some restaurants.

So, have you practiced any of the efforts to reduce the use of plastics in your daily life?