Scientists at The University of Manchester are calling for the creation of a global network of air monitoring stations to track the movement of airborne plastic pollution, which may be travelling further and faster around the planet than previously thought.
In a new review, published in the journal Current Pollution Reports, the researchers have examined the current scientific research on how tiny plastic fragments – called micro and nanoplastics – enter the air, where they come from, and the mechanisms that transport them across vast distances.
The study reveals significant gaps in knowledge and understanding of airborne plastic pollution, driven by inconsistent measurement techniques, limited data, oversimplified simulations, and gaps in understanding atmospheric cycling mechanisms.
One key uncertainty is the scale of plastic entering the atmosphere. Current estimates vary wildly – from less than 800 tonnes to nearly 9 million tonnes per year – making it difficult to assess the true global impact. It also remains unclear whether the dominant contributors are land-based, such as road traffic, or marine based, such as sea spray.
Such large uncertainties raise the concern that airborne plastics, which pose potential risks to human and environmental health, may have a more extensive presence and influence than previously captured by current monitoring and simulation systems.
“The scale of uncertainty around how much plastic is entering our atmosphere is alarming. Plastic pollution can have serious consequences for human health and ecosystems, so in order to assess the risks, we need to better understand how these particles behave in the atmosphere. If we want to protect people and the planet, we need better data, better models, and global coordination.”
Lead author Zhonghua Zheng, Co-Lead for Environmental Data Science & AI at Manchester Environmental Research Institute (MERI) and Lecturer in Data Science & Environmental Analytics at The University of Manchester
Each year, the world produces over 400 million tonnes of plastic, with a significant proportion ending up as waste. Over time, these plastics breaks down into microscopic particles called microplastics (less than 5mm) and nanoplastics (smaller than 1 micron), which are increasingly being found in the air we breath, oceans and soil. These particles can move thousands of miles within days and have even remote regions like polar ice zones, desserts and remote mountain peaks.
While our understanding of the problem has grown rapidly, limited real-world data, inconsistent sampling methods, and computer models that oversimplify how plastic behaves in the air, means that key questions remain unanswered.
To address these concerns, the authors are calling for future research efforts to focus on three critical areas:
Expanding and standardising global observation networks
Improving and refining atmospheric modelling
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI)
They say this integrated approach could transform how we understand and manage the plastic pollution crisis.
“By adopting this integrated approach, we can fundamentally transform how we understand and manage this emerging threat. AI can play a powerful role in analysing data and simulating plastic movement, it can help make sense of fragmented datasets, detect hidden patterns, and integrate information from multiple sources – but it needs good quality data to work with. All of these areas must work hand in hand to manage this emerging threat and shape effective global pollution strategies.”
Fei Jiang, PhD researcher at The University of Manchester
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) picture of nanoplastic particles derived from carotid plaque. Copyright University of New Mexico
People with plaque in the blood vessels of their neck have a higher amount of tiny plastic particles in those vessels compared to people with healthy arteries. This increase was significantly higher in people who had experienced a stroke, mini-stroke or temporary loss of vision due to clogged blood vessels, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Vascular Discovery 2025 Scientific Sessions: From Genes to Medicine.
Micronanoplastics are tiny pieces of plastic created in industrial processes or from larger plastic objects as they degrade in the ocean or the soil. Micronanoplastics are not uniform in size and are a mixture of micro and nano plastic sizes. While microplastics are sometimes visible at less than 5 millimetres in size, nanoplastics are microscopic (invisible to the naked eye), less than 1000 nanometres across. This makes them more easily dispersed and able to penetrate cells and tissues in living organisms. Researchers suggest that terminology should gradually transition to nanoplastics because that is more precisely what is being studied.
“These types of plastics are commonly found in the environment, especially in ocean garbage patches. Over many years, these plastics break down, mix into the soil and water, and can build up in the food chain,” said lead study author Ross Clark, MD, MBA, RPVI, a vascular surgeon-scientist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. “Many people think that micro and nanoplastics mainly come from using plastic utensils, cutting boards, packaging, water bottles and other plastic items. However, the main source is the food and water we eat and drink.”
In 2024, researchers in Italy reported finding micronanoplastics in plaque from some people without symptoms who underwent surgery to remove carotid artery plaque. Symptoms caused by carotid plaque buildup may include stroke, mini-stroke or temporary blindness. Followed for almost three years after surgery, people with micronanoplastics in their carotid plaque were significantly more likely to die or to have a non-fatal heart attack or stroke.
The current study, which included fewer than 50 participants, was built on the previous research conducted in Italy. Researchers compared the levels of micronanoplastics found in the carotid arteries of three groups: people with healthy arteries; those with plaque but no symptoms; and those experiencing symptoms due to plaque buildup. Researchers also compared plaques with low and high plastic levels to assess the effects of micronanoplastics on markers of inflammation, the gene activity of immune cells called macrophages and stem cells that help stabilise plaque.
The analysis found that the concentration of micronanoplastics in carotid arteries was:
16 times higher (895 micrograms/gram vs. 57 micrograms/gram) in plaque among people without symptoms compared to the levels found in artery walls of deceased tissue donors of similar age with no plaque; and
51 times higher (2888 micrograms/gram vs. 57 micrograms/gram) in plaque from people who had experienced stroke, mini-stroke or temporary loss of vision due to blockage of blood flow to the retina, in comparison to samples from age-matched, deceased tissue donors.
Comparing high-plastic and low-plastic plaque levels, the analysis found:
no link between the amount of micronanoplastics and signs of sudden inflammation; and
differences in gene activity in plaque-stabilizing cells and less activity in anti-inflammatory genes of plaque macrophage immune cells.
“These findings indicate that the biological effects of micronanoplastics on fatty deposits are more complex and nuanced than simply causing sudden inflammation,” Clark said. In their next phase of work, they will focus on better understanding the immunological effects of micronanoplastics in clogged arteries.
“It’s very important to study what these materials do to our bodies. However, we should be cautious about the early results of this study. We won’t fully understand the biological effects for many years to come,” Clark said.
The study has several limitations. It cannot prove that micronanoplastics in plaque were the cause of symptoms of carotid artery disease; micronanoplastics might be a sign of another health issue that caused these symptoms. Researchers did not have access to data detailing the sex or race/ethnicity of the tissue donors. Additionally, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, used to measure plastic in biological samples may have limitations. This technique allows measurements to include nanoplastics and larger microplastic particles and uses high temperatures to break down plastics into smaller organic molecules. However, parts of the biological samples may also break down into similar molecules. For instance, fatty acids found in artery-clogging plaque could break down into compounds appearing similar to polyethylene.
“We are constantly improving our method to reduce the amounts of lipids in the samples to lessen their impact on the results. Lipids have a very similar spectral signature on gas chromatography as some plastic polymers (in particular polyethylene). It can be challenging to distinguish between the lipids and the polyethylene in the results. That’s why removing the lipids is so important. We believe our methods are currently the best way to address this specific criticism. However, new discoveries might change how we understand this data in the future,” Clark said.
“This is a very interesting and troubling study. To date, we have not considered exposure to plastic micronanoparticles a modifiable risk factor for stroke. Although it is important to understand the mechanism at play in the pathophysiology of symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis, this association presents a novel potential target for stroke prevention,” said Karen L. Furie, MD, MPH, FAHA, volunteer vice chair of the American Heart Association Stroke Brain Health Science Subcommittee and professor and chair of neurology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Furie was not involved in this study.
Study details, background and design:
Researchers tested 48 samples of carotid arteries from 48 different adults collected in 2023-2024 at the University of New Mexico and the Office of the Medical Investigator (a state agency and part of the Department of Pathology at the University of New Mexico).
About one-third of the samples were from people aged 60 to 90 who had surgery to remove plaque from their carotid arteries. These people had symptoms including stroke, mini-stroke or temporary blindness (called amaurosis fugax).
About one-third of the samples came from people of similar age with no symptoms. They were having surgery to remove plaque buildup in their carotid arteries because a blockage was found during screening or a physical exam.
The last one-third of the samples came from tissue donors. These age-matched donors had died of any cause and did not have carotid artery blockage.
The researchers also compared plaques with low vs high amounts of micronanoplastics on inflammation-related measures. All samples were analysed to measure inflammation by looking at levels of inflammatory molecules TNF-α and IL-6. The levels were compared to the amount of plastics to find any connections. For the RNA sequencing studies, researchers examined samples with the highest and lowest concentrations of plastics.
Tiny fragments of plastic known as nanoplastics interact with a particular protein that is naturally found in the brain, creating changes linked to Parkinson’s disease and some types of dementia, according to a Duke University-led study.
In Science Advances, the researchers report that the findings create a foundation for a new area of investigation, fuelled by the timely impact of environmental factors on human biology.
“Parkinson’s disease has been called the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world,” said principal investigator, Andrew West, PhD, professor at Duke University School of Medicine.
“Numerous lines of data suggest environmental factors might play a prominent role in Parkinson’s disease, but such factors have for the most part not been identified.”
Improperly disposed plastics have been shown to break into very small pieces and accumulate in water and food supplies, and were found in the blood of most adults in a recent study.
“Our study suggests that the emergence of micro and nanoplastics in the environment might represent a new toxin challenge with respect to Parkinson’s disease risk and progression,” West said.
“This is especially concerning given the predicted increase in concentrations of these contaminants in our water and food supplies.”
West and colleagues in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and the Department of Chemistry at Trinity College of Arts and Sciences found that nanoparticles of the plastic polystyrene — typically found in single use items such as disposable drinking cups and cutlery — attract the accumulation of the protein known as alpha-synuclein.
West said the study’s most surprising findings are the tight bonds formed between the plastic and the protein within the area of the neuron where these accumulations are congregating, the lysosome.
Researchers said the plastic-protein accumulations happened across three different models performed in the study – in test tubes, cultured neurons, and mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.
West said that questions remain about how such interactions might be happening within humans and whether the type of plastic might play a role.
“While microplastic and nanoplastic contaminants are being closely evaluated for their potential impact in cancer and autoimmune diseases, the striking nature of the interactions we could observe in our models suggest a need for evaluating increasing nanoplastic contaminants on Parkinson’s disease and dementia risk and progression,” West said.
“The technology needed to monitor nanoplastics is still at the earliest possible stages and not ready yet to answer all the questions we have,” he said.
