A new study has found that microplastics are found all over the Earth, even high in the troposphere where wind speeds allow them to travel vast distances.
Microplastics are tiny fragments that come from packaging, clothing, vehicles and other sources and have been detected on land, in water and in the air.
Scientists from the French national research institute, the CNRS, were able to sample air at 2,877 metres above sea level because of the limited influence that the local climate and environment has on it.
They found all the samples contained microplastics after testing 10,000 metres of air a week.
They used weather data to calculate the trajectory of different air mass before each sample and found sources as far away as North Africa and North America.
Steve Allen, the main author of the study, told Agence France-Presse that the particles were able to reach great altitudes because they were able to travel such distances.
He said that it was like a fast highway once it hit the troposphere.
Microplastics can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Allen said the marine source was the most interesting.
There is no sink for this plastic in the ocean. It is moving around and around.
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The study shows that microplastics cause damage.
Microplastics damage human-cells study-plastic
The co-author of the study notes that the particles are small enough for humans to breathe in, and that the samples at the Pic du Midi do not pose a health risk.
She says that their presence in a zone that is thought to be protected should give pause.
She said that the problem was global and that the relationship with plastic was questionable.
It showed that shipping plastic abroad was a flawed strategy.
She said it was going to come back to her.
