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Airborne microplastics enter plant leaves and end up in our food

Evidence for a previously overlooked route for microplastics to enter crops and reach plant tissues has implications for ecology and human health.
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  1. Willie Peijnenburg

    1. Willie Peijnenburg is at the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, 2230 RA Leiden, the Netherlands, and is also at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Safety of Substances and Products, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.

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Plastic production is increasing sharply. This has raised concerns about the effects of microplastics (typically defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 millimetres in diameter) and nanoplastics (smaller plastic particles that are less than 1,000 nanometres in diameter) on human health. These concerns are partly influenced by alarming findings of the presence of microplastics in various human tissues, including the brain and placenta1–3. Continuing research is examining pathways of human exposure to microplastics, including through food sources. Most attention is focused on soil and water as common sources of plastics that enter the food chain. However, writing in Nature, Li et al.4 provide strong evidence supporting the air as being a major route for plastics to enter plants.

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Nature 641, 601-602 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00909-3

References

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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