Microplastics are already present in Metro Manila air, study confirms

A group of students of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology shared their research with me, shortly after it was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

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The study is a first of its kind, confirming microplastic particles in Metro Manila air, and I proudly broke it on GMA News Online.

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It resulted in the network's primetime news cast picking up the story, and a local government unit reaching out to see the study and be guided accordingly.

 

I am hopeful the research will command better attention from politicians, business leaders, and policy makers, so they can lead better and create better laws that will protect the citizens.

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An excerpt:

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While finding microplastics in the air is alarming — remember, our lungs cannot digest microplastics, Dr. Bacosa reminds —  "what we're concerned with is the fact that microplastics can be a carrier of other things like bacteria, viruses, and  cancerous compounds like heavy metals," he said.

 

In other words, apart from the risk of introducing a foreign object like microplastics into our bodies, these microplastics can also give pollutants and disease-causing bacteria a free ride into our innards and bodily organs.

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