Microplastics: which countries eat and breathe the most of them?

In terms of ingested or inhaled microplastics, France ranks rather well, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Every month, we breathe around 900,000 – a figure still five times higher than the Portuguese or the Spanish – and ingest around 1.8 grams every month.

15 grams of microplastics ingested per month in Indonesia

In their work, researchers from Cornell University in the United States distinguished ingested microplastics – via food – and those involuntarily breathed in 109 countries.

How to quantify these microplastics? According to the National Food Safety Agency (Anses), these plastic fragments measure between 5 millimeters and a few hundred nanometers, or 70 times smaller than the thickness of a hair. The researchers therefore took into account different factors to measure them:

• THE dietary habits or the way food is processed to assess ingested microplastics.
• The concentration of airborne microplastics, respiratory rate and age to calculate the number of microplastics breathed.

“National microplastic adoption is a critical indicator of plastic pollution and public health risks“, indicates Fengqi You, one of the authors, in a communicated.

After many calculations, the scientists established two rankings, which they then transcribed onto a world map. First, there is the list of countries where inhabitants ingest the most microplastics. Indonesia comes first, with 15 grams per month, the majority of which comes from seafood, such as shellfish. Highly ranked is the United States, with a dietary intake of microplastics estimated at around 2.4 grams per month. Finally, the country where inhabitants consume the least microplastics is Paraguay, with only 0.85 grams of plastic ingested per month.

China and Mongolia are the countries where the most microplastics are breathed

The other ranking is that of the countries where inhabitants breathe the most microplastics. At the top of this list, tied, are Mongolia and China, with more than 2.8 million plastic particles inhaled each month. Conversely, the United States is once again well ranked, with 300,000 particles per month.

“Industrialization in developing economies, particularly in East and South Asia, is leading to increased plastic consumption, waste generation and human absorption of microplastics, explains Fengqi You. In contrast, industrialized countries are experiencing an opposite trend, supported by greater economic resources to reduce and eliminate plastic waste.”