It’s as If They’re Poisoning Us’: The Health Impacts of Plastic Recycling in Turkey.
Plastic recycling in Turkey is harming the health of many people and degrading the environment for everyone, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 88-page report, “‘It’s as If They’re Poisoning Us’: The Health Impacts of Plastic Recycling in Turkey,” documents the consequences of the Turkish government’s ineffective response to the health and environmental impacts of plastic recycling on the right to health.
First Evidence of Microplastics in Antarctic Snow
In recent years, airborne microplastics have been identified in a range of remote environments. However, data throughout the Southern Hemisphere, in particular Antarctica, are largely absent to date. We collected snow samples from 19 sites across the Ross Island region of Antarctica. Suspected microplastic particles were isolated and their composition confirmed using micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (µFTIR).
Presence of airborne microplastics in human lung tissue
Microplastics are present in the air and may be inhaled by humans, but whether they have deleterious effects on the respiratory system remain unknown. In this study, we determined the presence of microplastics in human lung tissues obtained at autopsies.