MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian scientists are trying to understand the scale of a potential threat to the environment in Siberia: microplastic-contaminated snow that then melts and seeps into the ground.
Scientists at Tomsk State University (TSU) say they have collected snow samples from 20 different Siberian regions, from the Altai Mountains to the Arctic, and that their preliminary findings confirm that plastic fibers airborne are appearing in the snow in remote areas of the desert.
“It is clear that not only rivers and seas are involved in the circulation of microplastics around the world, but also the soil, living creatures and even the atmosphere,” Yulia Frank, scientific director of the Microplastics center, told Reuters TSU Siberia.
Microplastics, which are created when larger pieces of plastic are broken over time, are increasingly found in air, food, drinking water, and even Arctic ice. Scientists are increasingly concerned that they could pose a risk to human health and marine life, although there is still no consensus on the issue.
Scientists in Tomsk have previously found microplastics in the digestive systems of fish caught in Siberian rivers, confirming that they help contaminate the Arctic Ocean with plastic.
“Siberia is absolutely little researched into this aspect and our (Russia’s) interest in this issue comes late compared to the rest of the world,” Frank said.
Scientists are now studying snow samples to understand the extent to which population density, proximity to roads, and other human activities contribute to pollution.
Reports by Dmitry Turlyun; Written by Maria Vasilyeva; Edited by Alex Richardson