Are sewage spills and coastal winds contributing to airborne microplastics?
Researchers used sewage and weather data and satellite monitoring to highlight a potential hidden source of microplastic pollution

Increasingly, I have been reading separate studies about incredibly high concentrations of microplastics and nanoplastics in sewage spills, how winds are stripping microplastics and nanoplastics from the ocean surface into the air, and the negative impacts of ingested or inhaled microplastics and nanoplastics on human health. Our study is the first to make the connection between water pollution and air quality, and raises the question about potential health risks.
Dr Lauren Biermann
Lecturer in Marine Science (Remote Sensing)
“There has always been a gap between the amount of microplastics we believed were being deposited in the oceans, and the concentrations that were observed by ship-based measurements. We think we have finally worked out why, and the impacts on human health are concerning.”
The health implications of this work are important. Inhaled microplastics can cross into our blood streams and from there can accumulate in organs such as our brains and livers. We need legislation to force our UK water supply companies to remove microplastics from our waste water systems.
Professor Clive Sabel
Professor of Big Data and Spatial Science