Scientists detect microplastics in dolphins’ breath for first time

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Potentially deadly microplastics have been detected in the breath of dolphins for the first time.

The worrying discovery suggests aquatic mammals could be exposed to the potentially harmful contaminants through inhalation, say American scientists.

A team led by Doctor Miranda Dziobak, of the College of Charleston in South Carolina, detected microplastic particles in air exhaled by wild bottlenose dolphins.

Dr. Dziobak explained that humans and animals are exposed to tiny particles of plastic contaminants known as microplastics around the world.

She said that, in both humans and rodents, microplastic exposure and inhalation has been linked to health issues, including oxidative stress and inflammation.

However, few previous studies have examined inhalation as a potential route of microplastic exposure for wildlife.

The research team collected samples of exhaled air from five bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, and six bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, during catch-and-release health assessment studies.

To capture the air, they held a collection surface over or just above each dolphin’s blowhole as it exhaled.

Dr. Dziobak said: "Analysis of the collected air showed that all 11 dolphins had at least one suspected microplastic particle in their breath."

Further analysis of the exhaled microplastic particles showed that they included both fibres and fragments and included several types of plastic polymers, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyester, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, and poly(methyl methacrylate), also known as PMMA.

For comparison, the research team had also sampled the surrounding air near the dolphins, allowing them to confirm that the detected microplastics were not just airborne near the blowholes but were actually exhaled.

Dr. Dziobak said: "These results support the idea that inhalation could be another key route of microplastic exposure for dolphins, alongside ingestion."

But the researchers say their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, are only "preliminary" - and that further research will be needed to better quantify the degree of inhalation exposure to various types of microplastics among dolphins, as well as to determine the potential impacts on their health.

Dr Dziobak added: “We know that microplastics are floating around in the air, so we suspected that we would find microplastics in breath samples.

"We are concerned by what we are seeing because dolphins have a large lung capacity and take really deep breaths, so we are worried about what these plastics could be doing to their lungs.”