A peer-reviewed research paper published in The Cryosphere this week by scientists from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand shared the disturbing news. Snow samples collected at 19 remote sites all showed the presence of tiny, artificial polymers. Further analysis revealed that plastics, which come from synthetic processes, including the manufacture of cosmetics, clothing and food packaging, may have traveled 4,000 miles to the fragile ecosystem. On average, fresh snow there contained 29 particles per liter, 79% of which was found in plastic bottles and clothing. “While the human footprint has grown over the last century, Antarctica is still a place of peace and science and is considered to be the last remaining true desert on earth,” researcher Alex Aves wrote in the newspaper. Toxic microplastics have been found in the intestines of shellfish. Carmen MartÃnez Torrón / Getty Images Microplastics are small but dangerous. Around the size of a grain of rice, and sometimes less than the width of a human hair, toxic particles are polymer fragments created by the erosion of plastic waste. They have been found in a number of remote environments, from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the summit of Mount Everest, but never in the fresh Antarctic snow until now. Their size and weight allow them to travel easily in the air. Pollution has also been found in the intestines of shellfish and fish, and therefore in humans, through the consumption of seafood. In 2017, scientists in Belgium, where mussels are a favorite dish, said that those who eat seafood can consume up to 11,000 microplastic particles a year. A Hull University study recently found microplastics in the lungs of surgical patients and in the blood of donors. Made from a complex combination of sometimes toxic chemicals, the harmful effects of microplastics on humans have been difficult to study due to their ubiquitous presence and the number of other chemicals that humans are exposed to in our daily lives. A study published in Science Direct reported that they can cause damage to human cells, including allergic reactions and cell death. Microplastics looking on the sand at Schiavonea beach, Italy. KONTROLAB / LightRocket via Getty Images National Geographic reports that by 2020, 367 million tons of plastics were manufactured worldwide, a number that is expected to triple by 2050. “It’s worrying that we are in a lot of trouble and we still do not understand the consequences,” said Alice Horton, a seafarer at the National Oceanographic Center in the United Kingdom. “And it will be very difficult to support outside of that if necessary.”
