Air pollution in Geneva: microplastics identified by Greenpeace

Geneva air contains microplastics. This is confirmed by a Greenpeace International survey, published on Monday. Tests were carried out in July, at the end of the lake, the ecological organization said in a press release. A “citizen researcher” was equipped with a dust analyzer and crisscrossed for eight hours, on foot and public transport, different places, including the station, stores, or a restaurant. It thus collected particles suspended in the air, which were then analyzed in the laboratory.

The sample volume was 1.7 m³, “while a person generally breathes almost double in the same period of time”, underlines Greenpeace. In total, 165 particles were raised, including 94 fragments of indefinite origin, 71 fibers mainly made up of cellulose and modified natural materials, twelve confirmed microplastic particles and three other provisionally identified as synthetic polymers. Among the confirmed microplastics were polyester, nylon, polyethylene, vinyl copolymers or cellulose acetate, “typical of clothes, packaging and furnishings.”

Only particles of more than ten microns have been analyzed, while recent studies suggest that microplastics of lower size “are likely to be present in even larger quantities”, small “to penetrate deep into the lungs”. Switzerland ranks 8th in the world in terms of waste management, notes Greenpeace. “However, even Geneva air contains microplastics, which reveals how omnipresent and uncontrollable the plastic is in the environment,” points out the NGO. The publication of these results comes as a world summit for a plastics treaty is underway in Geneva. The environmental organization demands a legally binding text, which reduces the production of at least 75%, by 2040.