CofC Faculty Discuss Microplastics Found in Dolphin Breath

^{Microplastics are invisible but omnipresent. Musat/iStock via Getty Images Plus}

College of Charleston Associate Professor of Public Health Leslie Hart and Instructor of Public Health Miranda Dziobak have co-authored an article for The Conversation concerning microplastic particles discovered in the exhaled breath of bottlenose dolphins.

They say an estimated 170 trillion bits of microplastic are estimated to be in the oceans alone.

“In humans, inhaled microplastics can cause lung inflammation, which can lead to problems including tissue damage, excess mucus, pneumonia, bronchitis, scarring and possibly cancer. Since dolphins and humans inhale similar plastic particles, dolphins may be at risk for the same lung problems,” says Hart.

Hart and Dziobak say the impacts of plastic inhalation on dolphins’ lungs are not yet known: “People can help address the microplastic pollution problem by reducing plastic use and working to prevent more plastic from polluting the oceans.”

Read the complete article on The Conversation.