Sunlight Turns Microplastics Into Chemical Clouds

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Scientists say microplastics in rivers, lakes and oceans aren't just drifting debris. They're rather constantly leaking invisible clouds of chemicals into the water. New research shows that sunlight drives this process, causing different plastics to release distinct and evolving mixtures of dissolved organic compounds as they weather.

These compound plumes are surprisingly complex, often richer and more biological active that natural organic matter and include active, broken osmolar fragments and oxidized molecules.

Yet we humans keep throwing plastic waste into nature!