What’s News
Researchers have found that microplastics — are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain.
Scientists say discovery may be linked to decades-long decline in sperm counts in men around the world
Bottles of plastic water contain hundreds of thousands of toxic microscopic plastic particles, new research has found.
Everywhere scientists look in the Indian River Lagoon, they find so-called “forever chemicals,” in some places at almost four times the levels of what’s safe in drinking water, according to a recently published scientific study by the University of Florida.
After years of work from the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Health Services, along with tireless advocacy from families and communities across the state, Wisconsin finally has enforceable water standards for PFAS.
The guidance may spur water utilities to tackle PFAS, but health advocates are still waiting for mandatory standards.
About 51 trillion microplastics are floating in the surface waters of oceans around the world. Originating from various types of plastics, these tiny fragments (less than 5 millimeters in length) pollute natural ecosystems. Hundreds of studies have surveyed plastic debris on the surface or near surface of the ocean. However, these studies only “scratch the surface,” and do not provide a complete inventory of what’s lurking beneath.
Based on a total of 8,218 pelagic microplastic samples from the world’s oceans collected between 2000 and 2019, a team of scientists has developed a publicly available dataset for assessing the abundance of microplastics and their long-term trend in the world’s upper oceans. The team found 24.4 trillion pieces (82,000–578,000 tons) of microplastics in the world’s oceans, but the actual amount is likely to be much greater.
Researchers conducting a planned University of Florida-led study on plankton in two lagoons of the Florida Keys stumbled upon an unexpected presence in the course of their routine sampling: microplastics.