Baoshan Xing and Team Author New Book on Threat of Micro- and Nanoplastics
Content
While the threat that microplastics pose to human and ecological health has been richly documented and is well known, nanoplastics, which are smaller than one micrometer (1/50th the thickness of an average human hair), are far more reactive, far more mobile, and vastly more capable of crossing biological membranes. Yet, because they are so tiny and so mobile, researchers don’t yet have an accurate understanding of just how toxic these particles are.
To help further the effort in understanding the threat of both micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), Baoshan Xing, University Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Soil Chemistry in the College of Natural Sciences’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture, has co-authored a new book, Microplastics in the Environment.
Intended for college students, the book shows how MNPs are a growing planetary pollutant affecting critical biogeochemical cycles, the fitness of the environment, and human health. The authors use research reviews and case studies to highlight the current state of understanding and areas where significant knowledge gaps exist.
Xing is widely acknowledged as an expert on nanoplastics, and has previously published studies on how steam-disinfecting baby bottles exposes bottle-fed children to MNPs; how zooplankton break microplastics down into 13.3 quadrillion nanoplastic particles every day; a new tool that can help researchers quantify and analyze MNPs; and a new technique for analyzing MNP concentrations in samples taken from living humans.
More information about the book can be found on the website of its publisher, the American Chemical Society.