Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
New study finds microplastics in 90% of salt
Researchers from South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia have found that 90 percent of table salt sold around the world are contaminated with microplastics.
After analyzing salt from 21 countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa, a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in 36 out of 39 brands.
Microplastic density was highest among Asian brands, especially those from Indonesia. The only three salts free from plastic were those from Taiwan, China, and France.
Researchers sampled three types of salts and found that sea salt had the highest microplastic levels, followed by lake salt, and then rock salt.
With particles often less than 5 millimeters in size and many the same color as salt, and they are barely noticeable.
The study estimates that the average adult consumes 2,000 microplastics a year through salt.
Scientists have yet to determine how harmful microplastics are to our bodies, but so far, experiments on mice haven't exactly brought good news. (Next Animation via Reuters)