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    Op-Ed                                                                     MAY 15, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 12

             The Invisible Plastic Crisis — And

                  a Seed That Could Help Solve It

             New research shows microplastics are spreading through the air and water at alarming levels,

                                        but scientists may have found a simple natural solution.

                    ASHISH K TRIPATHI                                                                             Gabrielle Batista. “In more alkaline
                                                                                                                  waters, it performed even better than
                  lastic pollution is no longer just                                                              the chemical product.”
                  about  dirty  beaches  and  float-                                                                  The  significance  of  the  discov-
            Ping  waste  in  the  ocean.  The                                                                     ery goes beyond science laboratories.
            real  danger  now  is  microscopic,  air-                                                             Moringa grows widely in tropical re-
            borne and increasingly impossible to                                                                  gions and has long been consumed as
            escape.                                                                                               food.  Its  seeds  are  inexpensive  and
                Microplastics  —  tiny  fragments                                                                 accessible,  making  the  method  po-
            released  from  tyres,  synthetic  cloth-                                                             tentially valuable for rural areas and
            ing,  industrial  waste  and  degrading                                                               smaller  communities  with  limited
            plastics — are travelling through the                                                                 treatment infrastructure.
            atmosphere and contaminating water                                                                        The  researchers  tested  the
            systems  across  the  world.  Scientists                                                              method  using  water  contaminated
            have  found  them  in  remote  ecosys-                                                                with  PVC  microplastics,  considered
            tems, drinking water and even inside                                                                  among the most harmful plastics be-
            the  human  body.  What  once  ap-                                                                    cause of their mutagenic and carcino-
            peared to be a marine pollution issue                                                                 genic  properties.  After  coagulation
            is  rapidly  becoming  a  global  public                                                              and filtration, the moringa treatment
            health concern.                                                                                       achieved  removal  rates  similar  to
                Two recent studies, from Austria                                                                  conventional chemicals.
            and  Brazil,  reveal  both  the  scale  of                                                                The two studies together expose
            the problem and the possibility of an                                                                 a stark contradiction of modern life.
            affordable solution.                                                                                  Humanity  has  created  a  pollution
                The first study, published in Na-                                                                 crisis so widespread that microscopic
            ture  by  researchers  from  the  Uni-                                                                plastics  are  now  circulating  through
            versity of Vienna, challenges a long-  Microplastics carry negative electrical charges that keep them suspended in water and diffi-  the  atmosphere  like  industrial  dust.
            held belief that oceans are the main   cult to filter. Coagulants neutralise those charges, causing particles to clump together so they   Yet solutions may not always require
            source of airborne microplastics. Us-                                                                 futuristic  technology  or  massive  in-
            ing 2,782 atmospheric measurements                   can be removed more easily (File photo)          vestment.
            from around the world and compar-                                                                         Sometimes, nature itself may of-
            ing  them  with  advanced  transport   More  worrying  is  the  fact  that   State  University  in  Brazil  have  dis-  fer part of the answer.
            models,  scientists  discovered  that   scientists still do not fully understand   covered that Moringa oleifera seeds   The political challenge now is ur-
            land  sources  release  more  than  20   the scale of the crisis. The Vienna re-  can effectively remove microplastics   gency. Governments worldwide have
            times as many microplastic particles   searchers  found  earlier  models  had   from water. Their findings, published   focused  heavily  on  climate  change,
            into the atmosphere as the oceans.  dramatically  overestimated  atmo-  in  ACS  Omega,  suggest  the  plant-  but microplastic pollution has yet to
               “The  now  scaled  emission  esti-  spheric plastic concentrations, expos-  based extract can rival conventional   receive  the  same  coordinated  glob-
            mates show that over 20 times more   ing major gaps in global data.  chemical  treatments  used  in  water   al  response.  That  needs  to  change
            microplastic particles are emitted on   “The  data  situation  is  still  not   purification systems.  quickly.
            land than from the ocean,” said lead   satisfactory, and there are still major   The  science  is  straightforward.   Microplastics  are  not  disappear-
            author Andreas Stohl.             uncertainties,”  Stohl  admitted,  call-  Microplastics  carry  negative  elec-  ing. They break into ever-smaller par-
                The  finding  shifts  attention  to-  ing  for  more  measurements  to  un-  trical  charges  that  keep  them  sus-  ticles that spread farther and become
            ward  urban  and  industrial  life  it-  derstand how much pollution comes   pended in water and difficult to filter.  harder to remove. Every delay means
            self. Every time tyres wear down on   from traffic and other sources.  Coagulants  neutralise  those  charges,  more contamination in air, water and
            roads,  synthetic  clothes  are  washed   That uncertainty should concern   causing  particles  to  clump  together   food systems.
            or plastic waste breaks apart, micro-  governments  rather  than  reassure   so they can be removed more easily.  The  lesson  from  these  studies
            scopic particles are released into the   them. Environmental crises often be-  Traditionally,  treatment  plants   is clear. The microplastic crisis is no
            environment. Winds then carry them   come most dangerous when pollution   rely  on  aluminium  sulfate  for  this   longer confined to oceans or landfills.
            across  continents  before  they  settle   spreads  faster  than  scientific  under-  process. But the Brazilian team found   It is in the air people breathe and the
            back onto soil and water.         standing or regulation. Microplastics   that  saline  extracts  from  moringa   water they drink. But while the prob-
                This  explains  why  microplastics   may now fit that pattern.  seeds performed similarly — and in   lem is global, the solution may begin
            are  now  being  found  even  in  isolat-  Yet  amid  the  alarming  findings,  some alkaline conditions, even better.  with  something  surprisingly  simple:
            ed  regions  far  removed  from  major   another study offers hope.    “We showed that the saline extract   recognising that the fight against plas-
            cities. Pollution is no longer staying   Researchers  at  the  Institute  of   from the seeds performs similarly to   tic  pollution  requires  both  scientific
            where it is produced.             Science and Technology of São Paulo   aluminum  sulfate,”  said  researcher   innovation and sustainable thinking.

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