GoKawiilStudy finds microplastics react with water to form harmful radicals
Researchers from Columbia University and UC Berkeley found that microplastics, unlike larger plastic objects, become chemically reactive when exposed to water, spontaneously generating reactive oxygen species such as hydroxyl radicals. The study, published in Nature, shows this reaction occurs under ordinary environmental conditions without sunlight or other degradation triggers, and is attributed to the much larger surface area of smaller particles.