International studies on microplastics
Environmental offices from five federal states [in Germany] have detected microplastic in virtually all western and southern German rivers. A U.S. study also found large quantities of plastic particles in drinking water bottles.
Microplastics can be found in virtually all western and southern German rivers. This is the conclusion of a transnational pilot study which, in addition to Baden-Württemberg, includes the federal states of Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. Accordingly, small fragments of plastic were detectable in all 52 samples from 25 rivers.
Mainly it was found to be irregularly shaped particles with diameters between 0.3 and 0.002 millimeters, which could come from larger plastic objects. Almost 90 percent of them were made of polyethylene and polypropylene.
Offices call for action against further damage
“It can be assumed that there is a civilizational base load of plastic particles in the waters,” explained the environmental authorities. Their results coincided with those of other comparable studies of rivers in Europe and North America.
“In line with the precautionary principle, measures should therefore be initiated at an early stage to reduce further entries” emphasized the officials. Scientific findings of the ecological consequences have so far been largely missing. Further, large-scale research projects are necessary.
Particles enter the rivers via sewage or garbage
According to the participants, the study was the first of its kind. The aim was to obtain a comprehensive data set on the microplastic load over a larger area. Therefore, numerous rivers were analyzed in the catchment area of the Rhine and the Danube. The samples were examined at the University of Bayreuth with an infrared spectrometer.
The plastic particles are found in detergents such as washing powder, shampoo, cosmetics and get into the environment via waste water. In addition, they arise when discarded plastic bags or bottles decompose or when they are removed from synthetic clothing during washing. The mini-garbage is found not only in rivers and oceans, but has already been detected in arctic ice, far from human habitation.
Large amounts of particles in drinking water bottles
Microplastic is a problem not only in the water: US researchers also found in drinking water bottles a sometimes significant concentration of micro-plastic particles. The plastic particles apparently go into the bottling process, write the researchers of the State University of New York.
The scientists tested 250 bottles in the USA, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand and Lebanon. Among them were also products of well-known brands. Accordingly, 93 percent of the samples found plastic residues such as polypropylene, nylon and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The concentration ranged from zero to over 10,000 particles in a single bottle. On average, 10.4 micro-plastic particles (0.10 millimeters) per liter were detected. The study was published by Orb Media, a non-profit media association. 65 percent of the particles found were “fragments and no fibers,” said microplastic expert Sherri Mason of the State University of New York. This led to the conclusion that they obviously came from the industrial bottling process – from the bottles themselves or their closures.
courtesy Tagesschau
