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In article <b6af7fb5-f760-4548-8faa-
633c4c8cc170n@googlegroups.com>
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:


Researchers for the first time have discovered proof of
microplastics in Antarctic snow, indicating a wider than
previously known reach of microplastic pollution.

A study published in The Cryosphere scientific journal found
that researchers confirmed the existence of microplastics in
every snow sample they gathered from 19 different sites with “an
average of 29 microplastic particles per litre of melted snow,
which is higher than marine concentrations reported previously
from the surrounding Ross Sea and in Antarctic sea ice,”
according to a press release from the University of Canterbury.

Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a polymer found in beverage
bottles, was detected in close to four-fifths of the snow
samples, according to the study.

Researchers believe that microplastics may have come from both
long-range transport and local sources, including clothing that
researchers and base staff wore and research station plastic
equipment.

The implications of the study are important because of the
detrimental effects that microplastics can have on the
environment, including biological function impairment, limited
growth and negatively impacting reproduction.

“It improves our understanding of the extent of plastic
pollution near to Scott Base and where it’s coming from,”
Antarctica-New Zealand environmental adviser Natasha Gardiner
said in a statement, referring to a New Zealand research station
in the Antarctic.

“We can use this information to reduce plastic pollution at its
source and inform our broader environmental management
practices.”

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3519245-scientists- find-microplastics-in-antarctic-snow-indicating-pollution-reach/

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