An ignored microplastics threat | The Manila Times

MICROPLASTICS — plastic particles ranging in size from large grains of sand to particles small enough to become airborne or enter a person's bloodstream — have been a hot topic in environmental discussions over the past year or so. They should be because recent research has shown that they are literally everywhere: in the soil, in the water, in the air and inside virtually everyone's body. One major source of microplastics, however, has been largely overlooked up until now, and it is a problem that may ironically worsen rapidly as the world tries to solve another environmental problem by switching to electric vehicles.

According to new research just published by a team from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, tire particles may be the biggest source of microplastics in the environment, accounting for nearly one-third of all microplastics. The research team has called for tire particles to be classified as a separate category of environmental concern due to their significant differences in size, chemical complexity, behavior in the environment, and potential ecological and health risks.