London is the global capital of microplastic pollution: Study finds highest-ever levels of the tiny airborne fragments on a British rooftop amid growing safety concerns
- Kings College researchers studied London, Hamburg, Paris and Dongguan
- Collected and assessed amount of microplastics falling from the atmosphere
- Roof of nine-story London building was the most polluted site in the study
- True extent of health impact on people is still unknown despite ongoing research
Microplastics in the atmosphere are falling from the skies onto roofs and into human lungs in alarming quantities, scientists have found.
Tiny pieces of plastic – measuring between 0.02mm and 0.5mm in length – were captured on top of a nine-story building in London as well as at sites in Hamburg, Paris and Dongguan.
Eight samples were taken and measured in England’s capital city, revealing it to be the city with the most polluted atmosphere.
Scientists are desperately trying to understand how bad the ubiquitous invisible particles are for human health.
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Eight samples were taken and measured in England’s capital city, revealing it to be the city with the most polluted atmosphere (stock)
A total of 15 different microplastics were identified in the study, The Guardian reports.
Rates at which the microplastics fell from the sky varied from 575 to 1,008 pieces per square metre per day.
Stephanie Wright from Kings College London told The Guardian: ‘We found a high abundance of microplastics, much higher than what has previously been reported.
‘But any city around the world is going to be somewhat similar. I find it of concern – that is why I am working on it.
‘The biggest concern is we don’t really know much at all. I want to find out if it is safe or not.’
London came out as the most polluted city of the four tested, with a deposition rate 20 times higher than Dongguan.
It is also three times worse than Hamburg in Germany and seven times worse than Paris.
There is currently no suitable explanation for the varying numbers, with collection methods and limitations to current techniques and analysis restricting the study’s precision.
The research, published in the journal Environment International, adds to a year’s worth of research revealing the scourge of microplastic pollution.
Two separate pieces of research published in August brought the devastating problem to light.
Scientists are desperately trying to understand how bad the ubiquitous invisible particles are for human health. They stem from various sources and have spread around the world (pictured)
A total of 15 different microplastics were identified in the study, The Guardian reports. Tiny pieces of plastic – measuring between 0.02mm and 0.5mm in length – were captured on top of a nine-story building in London as well as at sites in Hamburg, Paris and Dongguan (file photo)
One, from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, found microplastics have drifted in the air as far as the Arctic and are settling in the pristine ice.
Another, from the UN, investigated the potential health impacts of microplastics.
It found, in its landmark report, that found larger microplastic particles, bigger than 150 micrometres, are likely to be passed out of our bodies without harm.
Smaller particles could potentially be absorbed into our organs, however.
It also suggests microplastics have the potential to both carry disease-causing bacteria and help bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.
