Plastic pollution is a problem. Everyone recognizes that plastic waste and microplastic pollution impose major environmental harm. From water bottles in the ocean to plastic bags trapped in trees: the impact is felt throughout the environment. What people rarely consider is the impact of the not-so-obvious sources…
John Jaeger North Babylon Independent Researcher discusses a lesser acknowledged source of microplastic pollution: paint. According to environmental research published in Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, paint is less than considered in research on microplastics — and yet, the presence of microplastics created by paint are seemingly everywhere.
Environmental Researchers at the University of Toronto are presenting a new topic of conversation in plastic pollution: paint. According to the researchers in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, paint is widely understudied as a source of microplastics. Defined as plastic particles that are less than 5 mm, microplastics accumulate in the air, water sources, food and, in time, within the human body. While more obvious sources are researched at length, paint seems to be largely left out of the conversation.
Zoie Diana, researcher at the University of Toronto, explains that paint typically presents as ‘anthropogenic unknowns’ when researching microplastics. This makes it difficult to determine the true impact of paint on the environment.
John Jaeger, North Babylon Independent Researcher, agrees that a more focused approach in researching paint more specifically could help us to determine new ways and methods for mitigating microplastic pollution impacts on the environment.
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