Category: CONSEQUENCES_AIR_PLOLLUTION NEWS_ARCHIVE Pollution_Air_MN Science_Air_CN

Microplastic particles have been discovered in the lungs of live human patients. A team of researchers from Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull in the United Kingdom has published a study in the journal Science of the Total Environment that reveals 39 microplastics found in 11 of 13 samples tested.1 This was much higher than the researchers had expected to find, based on previous lab tests.

A: Air pollutants include more than just greenhouse gases—principally carbon dioxide but also methane, nitrous oxide and others—but there’s a big overlap: the two often interact with each other. For instance, air pollution in the form of particulate matter from diesel engines is circulated around the globe, ending up in the most remote places, including the polar regions. When it lands on ice and snow it darkens them slightly, leading to less sunlight being reflected back into space, and contributing to global warming. More at UN Environment.