Most people know microplastic pollution poses a risk to our health, but as Mongabay recently reported, researchers are discovering that marine animals are suffering the same disastrous consequences as humans on land.
What happened?
As Mongabay reported, researchers netted pods of dolphins in Florida and Louisiana to check their vitals and collect samples, including exhalations from their blowholes. Scientists found that all the dolphins breathed out microplastic fibers, similar to those shed from synthetic clothes. In other studies, these same fibers have been found deep in the lungs of humans.
Why are microplastics so concerning?
Microplastics are everywhere, in our food, water, and even the air we breathe. When these tiny bits of plastic debris enter the lungs, they can damage tissue and impact our immune systems.
Leslie B. Hart, one of the study's authors, explained to Mongabay, "Plastic pollution has been found on every continent and in every ocean, in people, terrestrial wildlife and marine wildlife."
These plastic products break down into tiny fragments that enter our waterways, where they're often mistaken as food by everything from zooplankton to whales, and eventually work their way back up through the entire food chain to humans. Fibers, like those found in the dolphins, are the most commonly observed microplastic type, accounting for 71% of the total number of microplastic particles found in a study of river water.
"We're really just starting to skim the surface," Hart told Mongabay, in finding evidence and learning about the long-term impacts of microplastic exposure.
Studies have already shown microplastics can delay development and reproduction in animals, and microplastics' even smaller byproduct, nanoplastics, can enter and damage human cells.
What's being done about microplastics?
While it would be impossible to completely remove microplastics from the environment, researchers are exploring ways to mitigate and reverse their toxic effects.
Probiotic supplements have been shown to help reduce inflammation caused by microplastics in the gastrointestinal system. Scientists have also developed water filtration material composed of readily available materials like sawdust that's effective at removing microplastics from drinking water.
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Monitoring for microplastics can be expensive, but scientists recently created a cost-effective wireless portable microplastic detection device that, when paired with a smartphone or mobile device, can count the number of particles present in a water sample. Accessible innovations like these can help protect not only our health, but the health of our marine friends.
The best way for individuals to make a positive impact is to use less plastic in our daily lives and thus opt for biodegradable or reusable alternatives — instead of one-time-use petroleum-based plastics that will inevitably degrade into additional microplastic waste that ends up in the environment, wildlife, and our bodies.
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