Microplastic pollution is increasing greatly around the globe, according to a study of plastic particles (微粒) carried in the air.
People are already known to breathe, drink and eat microplastics, and research suggests that pollution levels will continue to rise rapidly. The researchers said that breathing in these particles can be harmful to lung tissue and lead to serious diseases.
Professor Natalie Mahowald, at Cornell University in the US and part of the research team, said, “But maybe we could solve this before it becomes a huge problem, if we manage our plastics better, before they accumulate in the environment and move around everywhere.” The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Acadenry of Sciences, examined airborne (空气传播的) microplastics, which have been far less, studied than plastics in oceans and rivers.
The team gathered more than 300 samples of airborne microplastics from 11 sites across the western US. These were the basis for atmospheric modeling that estimated the contribution from different sources. They found that roads were the main factor in the western US, linked to about 85% of the microplastics in the air. These are likely to include particles from tires and brake pads on vehicles, and plastics from litter that had been broken down.
The researchers extended their modeling work to a global level and this suggested that while roads are also likely to be the major driver of airborne plastics in Europe, South America and Australia, plastic particles blown up from fields may be a much bigger factor in Africa and Asia.
Professor Andreas Stohl of the University of Vienna’s Faculty of Earth Sciences said, “The study confirms the global-scale nature of microplastic transport in the atmosphere and does a good job in highlighting highly relevant and concerning possibilities, but more measurement data is needed to get a better idea of the sources.”
12. What can breathing in microplastics result in?
A.Inability to eat and drink. | B.Losing the sense of hearing. |
C.Suffering from lung diseases. | D.Temporary loss of consciousness |
13. How does the author organize Paragraph 4?
A.By giving examples. | B.By presenting statistics. |
C.By making comparisons. | D.By making a definition. |
14. What may contribute most to the microplastic pollution in India?
A.Human activities. | B.Particles from fields. |
C.Particles from tires and litter. | D.Changes of the environment. |
15. What can we learn from Stohl’s words?
A.The nature of microplastic transport is misunderstood. |
B.The potential damage of microplastic pollution is ignored. |
C.The way of collecting samples of microplastics should be improved. |
D.More data needs collecting to understand the sources of microplastics. |