Scientists: all snow in Western Siberia is contaminated with microplastics

The destructive impact of humans on the Earth's biosphere continues. I have previously written several articles about how microplastics are spreading across the planet. These particles, which are impossible to see with the naked eye, are everywhere! They have been found on the highest peaks of land, in the deepest depths of the ocean. These particles have been discovered inside wild animals, as well as inside humans! We are literally permeated with plastic, which contains a colossal amount of toxic substances. Scientists have found particles inside our blood, in the placenta of unborn children, in organs.

The substances contained in microplastic particles are extremely toxic and poisonous. They accumulate for a very long time, slowly killing us from within. The same thing happens to wildlife!

A recent international study has just been published, which I finished studying just now. The study was conducted by researchers from Tomsk State University (Russia).

I will immediately get to the results: MICROPLASTICS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN ALL SNOW IN WESTERN SIBERIA. The study was conducted in my homeland, I was born and raised in Western Siberia!

One might think, rightly so, that Siberia is mighty and pristine? And maybe there is less human influence there than anywhere else?

But no. Massive deforestation in the forests, and "plastic snow" falls from the sky.

Let's take a closer look at the research to know the facts and use them in our ongoing fight.

The aim of the study was to investigate the distribution of microplastics (MPs) and anthropogenic fibers in the snow cover of Western Siberia. The researchers studied sources of pollution, atmospheric transport routes (air currents), and mechanisms for the deposition of microplastics on the ground. This will help better understand their impact on the natural world and human health!

The researchers decided to conduct a meta-study, that is, to cover huge distances at once! These are my native Altai Mountains and from them all the way to the Arctic Circle. A total of 22 sampling points were included in the regions: Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Omsk and Tyumen regions, as well as the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous districts.

In these regions, specialists took snow samples AT A DEPTH OF 1 METER, using cylindrical snow samplers. Then the samples were melted at room temperature, filtered, and then analyzed by microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to determine the composition of all particles found.

The scientists also modeled sources of microplastics: they applied the FLEXPART atmospheric transport model.

For reference:

The FLEXPART (Flexible Particle Dispersion Model) model is a numerical model of atmospheric transport widely used to analyze the trajectories and sources of particles in the atmosphere. It helps track the spread of various substances, such as aerosols, gas emissions, and microplastics, in the atmosphere and assess their sources or consequences for the environment.

Now let's move on to the results, so as not to dwell on heavy terms and descriptions. We need scientifically confirmed facts.

First.

Microplastics and anthropogenic fibers were found IN ALL 22 SNOW SAMPLING POINTS. The concentration varied from 99 to 2817 particles per square meter, and in Barnaul, the maximum concentration was 4444 mg/m².

It is worth explaining here, perhaps I missed it, that anthropogenic fibers are any artificially created or modified human-made fibers that are part of human impact on the environment. These can be both synthetic materials and, say, processed natural fibers that have acquired new properties as a result of human activity.

Anthropogenic fibers can come from clothing or any textiles, from wear and tear products (car tires, carpeting, and other artificial materials), from all industries, as well as from any garbage and the process of its decomposition.

Thus, all of this enters the environment in the form of micro- and nanoparticles alongside plastic, poisoning and killing ecosystems.

As for the results of the study, here you also need to visually represent the volume of the detected substances. Look! In the most polluted areas of the world's oceans, the concentration of microplastics can reach 500-1000 particles per square meter. This means that the snow in Western Siberia can contain 5-10 times more microplastics than seawater even in global "garbage patches" (for example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch).

However, in a typical urban apartment, there can be up to 1900-2400 particles of microplastics per square meter in HOUSEHOLD DUST. This is the dust that people sweep in large amounts from under the sofa or cabinet. Approximately the same amount of microplastics was detected by scientists IN ALL SNOW IN WESTERN SIBERIA.

Second.

The main materials found by the researchers were viscose fibers (44%) and microplastics (49.8%). I have already written about microplastics earlier, you know about their danger. But viscose fibers are particles that are formed as a result of the wear and decomposition of textile products! Our clothes. Viscose is produced from cellulose of wood, which undergoes deep processing to create a soft and durable material. Chemical substances such as carbon disulfide, caustic soda, and sulfuric acid are used in the production process.

Viscose fibers are dangerous for nature because they are long-lasting, enter all ecosystems (especially dangerous for water bodies), and pollute the soil. For humans, such fibers are dangerous because they enter the body along with chemical substances, including, for example, they can be so small in size that they penetrate cell membranes and have an impact at the cellular level.

In the new scientific work, scientists have determined that microplastics, viscose, and other substances have a size of less than 150 microns, which means that they continue to circulate in the water cycle with evaporation, falling on our heads again and again with rain and snow.

Third.

The researchers discovered global transport of microplastics and anthropogenic fibers through atmospheric air currents! Therefore, the ecosystems of ALL OF WESTERN SIBERIA are contaminated, which is confirmed by scientific data.

In addition, the scientists did not find a significant correlation between the concentration of microplastics and population density. This also needs to be emphasized.

Now let's summarize.

Snow contaminated with microplastic particles and mainly viscose fibers, which contain dangerous toxic substances, really falls on our heads, even in the most remote corners of Siberia.

Here is such a global problem. Moreover, there is not a single clean place where micro-particles are absent! Humans have polluted the Earth's biosphere to such an extent that even atmospheric air currents carry a global volume of toxic substances.

These particles cannot be removed from ecosystems. They slowly accumulate in all living organisms, in all layers of the biosphere! And no scientist in the world can currently calculate the real chronic effect of their influence, of the toxins.

What will happen to our body if we slowly accumulate a huge amount of toxins? Numerous dangerous diseases will appear, which will ultimately disrupt our lives and lead to a painful death.

And it's exactly the same for the living nature around us.

I recommend all my comrades to also familiarize themselves with the materials:

• Bees and whales are suffocating from plastic waste
• Scientists have identified a new dangerous disease: PLASTICOZ

© PAVEL PASHKOV