KUCHIING, June 6: A recent study found that Malaysia ranks highest among 109 countries for consuming microplastics—plastic particles smaller than 5mm—with over 50 per cent of this consumption coming from fish.

According to a news report by The Star, the study, published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal, found that Malaysians ingest an average of 502.3mg of microplastics per capita daily.

The study also revealed that Malaysia is among the top 10 countries inhaling the most microplastic particles, with an estimated 494,000 particles inhaled per capita daily.

The report noted that rapidly industrialising countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam lead globally in microplastic uptake, primarily due to high seafood consumption.

The study’s author Xiang Zhao, a professor from the National University of Defence Technology, China, and co-author Fengqi You, Professor in Energy Systems Engineering at Cornell University, explained that microplastics are commonly found in freshwater and marine environments, where they are ingested by organisms that are then consumed by humans.

They attributed the rise in plastic pollution to industrial development, noting that dietary microplastics come from accumulated particles in food and material losses from plastic use in food and drink production, processing and packaging.

“Meanwhile, airborne microplastics mainly originate from the abrasion of plastic materials, such as those in tyres and blow-ups from aquatic plastic particulates,” Zhao said.

The study identified mismanaged plastic waste runoff from landfills and open dumping as a significant source of aquatic microplastics.

These particles contaminate water systems and are dispersed through water currents and air transmission, eventually entering the food chain.

The study highlighted that airborne and dietary microplastic uptake increased more than six-fold from 1990 to 2018 across Asia, Africa, and America, including China and the United States.

The authors suggested that by eradicating 90 per cent of global aquatic plastic debris, microplastic uptake could be reduced by over 48 per cent in Southeast Asian nations, which account for most of the world’s microplastic uptake.

To mitigate microplastic uptake and potential public health risks, the authors recommended that governments in developing and industrialised countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas incentivise the removal of plastic debris from freshwater and saltwater environments through advanced water treatment and effective solid waste management practices. — DayakDaily