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Microplastics Could Trigger Cloud Formation and Affect the Weather, New Study Suggests

/in , , /by /CNNby Mary Gilbert

Microplastics are turning up in unusual places increasingly often as they filter into nearly every facet of life on Earth. They’ve been discovered in drinking water, food, air and even in blood. Now, scientists have found that these tiny particles might even be able to influence the weather.

Researchers reported Wednesday they detected microplastics in a majority of cloud samples taken from a mountaintop in China, in a study published in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

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Opinion: What We Flush Down the Toilet Matters. Only the ‘Three Ps,’ Please

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times

What goes in the toilet, and what goes in the trash? It’s the kind of discussion one has with a 2-year old, and is all the more delightful because it’s a topic generally regarded as taboo in polite conversation. You get to say things such as only “the three Ps” — pee, poop and paper — go in the toilet. Everything else goes in the trash can. Right?

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Testing at the Source: California Readies a Groundbreaking Hunt to Check for Microplastics in Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation (Western Water)by Nick Cahill Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Tiny pieces of plastic shed from food wrappers, grocery bags, clothing, cigarette butts, tires and paint are invading the environment and every facet of daily life. Researchers know the plastic particles have even made it into municipal water supplies, but very little data exists about the scope of microplastic contamination in drinking water. After years of planning, California this year is embarking on a first-of-its-kind data-gathering mission to illuminate how prevalent microplastics are in the state’s largest drinking water sources and help regulators determine whether they are a public health threat.

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Microplastics Rife in These Monterey Bay Fish and Seabirds, Study Finds

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Jessica Flores

Microplastic particles are widespread in Monterey Bay anchovies and the diving seabirds that eat them as a main food source – which could possibly impact the birds’ reproductive systems, according to a new study. Scientists at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance studied microplastic pollution in Monterey Bay by testing microplastic particles in the water and in anchovies and common murres, a bird species found in abundance in the region.

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As California Begins Monitoring Microplastics in Water, Experts Brace for Health Impacts

/in , /by /San Francisco Examinerby Jessica Wolfram

Microplastics, or the small fragments of plastics and polymers from clothing, packaging and cosmetics, are now found virtually everywhere on Earth — from the highest peaks to the depths of the ocean.

At five millimeters long or less, these tiny specks are also cropping up in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. Microplastics have been detected in commercially farmed shellfish and, recently, in beef and pork, with little known about how much plastic we’re ingesting — or the impacts of this material on our health or the health of the planet.

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California Set To Become First in Nation to Test Drinking Water for Microplastics

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Microplastic is everywhere.

The tiny particles that shed from clothing, food packaging and tires are in the air, the soil, the ocean and, almost certainly, your drinking water.

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Recent Storms Washed Microplastics Into San Francisco Bay, Studies Show

/in , /by /abc 7 Newsby Dan Ashley and Tim Didion

Walk along Damon Slough in Oakland and you’re likely to see trash heading towards San Francisco Bay. David Lewis of the environmental group Save the Bay, says much of it comes from the nearby 880 freeway and local storm drains.

“Every time it rains, anything that’s on the streets goes into the storm drains and straight out into the bay unfiltered. And we see this on all of the freeways and all of our urban road,” Lewis explains.

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As Need to Test Water for Microplastics Increases, California Finds a Way

/in , /by /Spectrum News 1by Parker Collins

Wherever you get your drinking water, there’s a good chance it contains some amount of tiny plastic pieces.

There aren’t a lot of rules or regulations around this particular pollutant because it is considered an emerging contaminant, but that is changing.

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Stormwater Could Be a Large Source of Microplastics and Rubber Fragments to Waterways

/in , /by /PHYS.ORG

In cities, heavy rains wash away the gunk collecting on sidewalks and roads, picking up all kinds of debris. However, the amount of microplastic pollution swept away by this runoff is currently unknown. Now, researchers in ACS ES&T Water report that stormwater can be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to water bodies and, with a proof-of-concept experiment, show that a rain garden could keep these microscopic pieces out of a storm drain.

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Microplastics are Everywhere. A Nevada Researcher Wants to Know How they Spread

/in , /by /The Nevada Independentby Daniel Rothberg

Tiny specks of degraded plastics have been documented in the snowpack around Lake Tahoe — and in the lake itself. They have been found in the Las Vegas Wash. The phenomenon is not unique to Nevada. Microplastics, the end product of our plastic consumption, have been found in ecosystems across the world, even in remote areas.

Microplastics are small — less than 5 millimeters — but they are not uniform. They can have different shapes and vary in size. Microplastics from clothing can appear as synthetic fibers, whereas degraded plastic from bags or water bottles might take on a different composition.

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