It's raining plastic! No, plastic bottles and bags are not dropping down from overhead. But plastic is in raindrops. A study by the U. S. Department of the Interior and the U. S. Geological Survey showed tiny pieces of plastic in rainfall in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Scientists couldn't see the plastic until they put the rainwater they collected under a microscope. Once they did that, they found tiny pieces of plastic in 90 percent of the rain samples.
▲It's a problem all around the world. Scientists haven't figured out just how widespread plastic pollution is, but they think that microplastics have probably find their way into every part of the environment. And just because we can't see the plastic doesn't mean it's not there. Scientists have found tons of plastic in the oceans, as well as in sea animals and plants. Even the human body can't resist microplastics.
No one's certain how microplastics have gotten all over the place. But really, it's no secret that we use a lot of plastic. It's commonly found in packaging, bags, electronics, and even in some of our clothes. Scientists think little pieces of plastic may be breaking off every time when we wash our clothes or just use something that contains plastic. That just may be how the rain samples in the study ended up containing so much of plastic.
OK, so there's a lot of plastic. Is it bad for us? Scientists are still studying the long-term effects of plastic exposure on people. But there's some research that suggests it may be harmful. In one study, microplastics were fed to mice, and they messed up the mice's gut microbiomes. Scientists know that when people's gut microbiomes are messed with, they are more likely to develop diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Sounds like we should all just avoid plastic to be on the safe side. That's easier said than done. Plastic is everywhere. It's impossible to avoid completely. Experts say we can reduce our exposure to plastic by limiting the amount of plastic products we use every day and by not washing our clothes too much. Both of those shed plastic into the environment. Still, there's a long way to go.
