Microplastics have been detected in one of the most remote places on Earth

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Microplastics from Africa have been detected above the pristine Pyrenees - one of the most remote places on Earth.

Tiny particles are polluting high altitude air after being blown up to 3,000 miles over oceans and continents.

The discovery adds to evidence they have reached everywhere on Earth - from Antarctica to the North Pole.

Bits of polystyrene and other plastic comes predominantly from packaging.

They were found around the Pic du Midi observatory in Bagneres-de-Bigorre, France - a stunning spot overlooking the border with Spain.

Some originated in western Europe while others could have come from North Africa or the US.

Lead author Dr. Steve Allen, of the University of Birmingham, said they travel thousands of miles on the wind.

"Previously detected in rivers, oceans, and snow, microplastic has now been found in the high-altitude air surrounding the Pic du Midi," he said.

The astronomical observatory is at the summit of the mountain - almost 9,500 feet above sea level.

An international team analyzed 10,000 cubic meters of air captured weekly by a pump.

They calculated a microplastic concentration of around one particle in every four.

"This plastic comes predominantly from packaging - such as polystyrene or polyethylene polymers," Dr. Allen said.

"While posing no direct threat, its presence far from sources of pollution is nonetheless surprising."

Mathematical models of air mass trajectories indicate the sources are as far afield as Africa, North America or the Atlantic Ocean.

"It indicates intercontinental atmospheric transport of microplastic," Dr. Allen said.

The study in Nature Communications identifies a new stage in the life cycle of microplastics.

"It offers an explanation for their presence at the poles, on Mount Everest, or in other remote regions of our planet," Dr. Allen said.

The particles - less than five millimetres long - are invisible to the naked eye.

"Microplastics, detected in southern France, could have been transported more than 4,500 km (2,800 miles) - over continents and oceans," Dr. Allen said.

Governments and campaigners are currently focused on avoiding plastic litter in the environment.

They are driven mainly by concern for wildlife and worries over unsightly drinks bottles or abandoned fishing nets on beaches.

Plastic bag usage has been cut in many parts of the world, and various projects are exploring how to gather up the floating waste in oceans.

But little has yet been done to deal with the "hidden risks" of polluting particles humans cannot see.

They also come from cleaning and cosmetic products, tyres and fibres shed from tumble driers and washing machines.

Microplastics are in every environmental system investigated to date - including record-breaking quantities in river sediments in the UK.

It is perhaps to be expected in built-up urban environments but the latest findings from the Pyrenees are a different matter.

This part of the mountain range is normally considered clean - not somewhere scientists would expect to find contamination.

"The emerging threat of atmospheric microplastic pollution has prompted researchers to study areas previously considered beyond the reach of plastic," Dr. Allen said.

"Investigating the range of transport is key to understanding the global extent of this problem."

Their occurrence in the 'free troposphere' - the lowest region of Earth's atmosphere - shows they can travel further than previously feared.

Dr. Allen said the phenomenon facilitates movement over greater distances with the potential to reach almost anywhere on Earth.

He added: "These findings have implications for remote areas, transporting this new contaminant and potential pollutant far beyond its source location.

"It also indicates a potential risk to environmental and human health due to absorbed chemicals and bacteria or virus being transported long distances to pristine locations and vulnerable areas," he said.

Microplastics have also been found in deep ocean floor sediments, far from immediate sources of pollution, carried there by ocean currents and settling slowly.

Other research has identified some astonishing ways microplastics can move between one environmental sub-system and others.

They range from ingestion by animals who become prey for others higher in the food chain to mosquito larvae in water ingesting plastics that are then retained in their bodies as the animals become flying insects.

This releases particles into the atmosphere allowing them to float for thousands of miles - or to be inhaled.

An earlier study by the same team identified tiny plastic fragments or fibres settled on every square metre of land around the Pyrenees.

The nearest major city - Toulouse - is about 75 miles away.