Micro-plastics Found in 90% of Sea Salt

Scientists sampled sea, rock, and lake salt from around the globe - they found micro-plastics in most of it.

So here's the thing: when we nudge 13 million metric tons of plastic into the oceans every year, it's bound to come back and haunt us. And sure enough, it's doing so in the most vexing way - returning as sneaky micro-plastics, hiding in our beloved table salt.

Last year TreeHugger reported on research that found salt samples from 8 different countries had plastic contaminants from ocean pollution. Now, a new study has taken a broader look at the problem of plastic in table salt and concludes that it's even worse than we thought.

Laura Parker writes in National Geographic that of 39 salt brands tested, 36 had micro-plastics in them, according to the new study by researchers in South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia.

The new research also looks at the correlation between micro-plastics in table salt and how predominant it is in the environment where the salt came from. Not surprisingly, they were pretty well related.

"The findings suggest that human ingestion of micro-plastics via marine products is strongly related to emissions in a given region," said Seung-Kyu Kim, a marine science professor at Incheon National University in South Korea.

Read the rest of the article:

https://www.treehugger.com/plastic/microplastics-found-90-percent-table-salt.html