"A team of UCLA researchers has put a new spin on the 1970s rock classic “Dust in the Wind” — only this one is grimmer and grimier than the original hit by Kansas.
They found that wind picks up microplastics from human-sewage-based fertilizers at higher concentrations than previously known, and may be an “underappreciated” source of airborne plastic bits, flakes and threads.
“If you blow wind on soil with microplastics, you’d expect a similar amount of soil and microplastic to be present in the dust,” said Sanjay Mohanty, a UCLA professor of civil and environmental engineering. “But here we found less soil in the dust and a lot more microplastics. That means every time the wind blows, the particles leave the soil preferentially.”"
Susanne Rust reports for the Los Angeles Times January 19, 2024.
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