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Humans produce hundreds of millions of tons of plastic every year, a demand that generates an escalating flow of plastic waste. This runoff sometimes enters natural environments in large chunks, but it mostly breaks down into tiny particles that can spread far and wide; microplastics have been found in the deepest reaches of the ocean, in the air we breathe, and even in our blood.Now, scientists led by Elizabeth Hasenmueller, associate director of the Water Access, Technology, Environment and Resources (WATER) Institute at Saint Louis University, report that microplastics, as well as cellulose-based pollutants, are present in the water and sediments of Cliff Cave, even though access to the cave is strictly limited for safety and conservation reasons. The results suggest that cave sediments “represent a potential source of ‘legacy’ pollution to the water resources and fragile habitats found in these globally distributed landscapes,” according to a new study published in Science of the Total Environment.
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