Han Sol Kim
Scientists have demonstrated a creative solution to plastic pollution, one of our most pressing environmental problems. Plastic was embedded with spores of plastic-eating bacteria that are activated when dumped in landfill, biodegrading 90% of the material in five months.
Weirder still, this actually made the plastic tougher and stronger during use. Plastic is a strong, versatile material, but the same properties that make it useful also make it hard to dispose of…..Story continues…
By: Michael Irving
Source: Newatlas
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Critics:
A recent study suggests the presence of microplastics may increase the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems among people with heart disease. The tiny plastics were found to double the risk of stroke or heart attack. People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study.
Thus far, scientists haven’t figured out any high-tech or pharmaceutical ways to remove microplastics from the body, though researchers did report in a study published earlier this year that boiling hard water can help microplastics clump together with mineral deposits and be filtered out of drinking water.
While many studies have reported the presence of microplastics in several foods, including salt, seafood, sugar, beer, bottled water, honey, milk, and tea, current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that the levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health. The available evidence from animal studies led them to warn that ingested microplastics appear to reduce fertility and may increase the risk of cancer, particularly in the digestive tract.
Microplastics are present in both tap water and bottled water. A study showed that an average of 325 plastic particles were found in a liter of bottled water as compared to 5.5 plastic particles per liter of tap water, according to Sherri Mason, a Penn State researcher. Of all the size classes, microplastic accumulation poses the greatest risk of harming the environment.
Because of their small size, their bioavailability increases, meaning they can potentially impact many more species than larger objects. Studies have detected tiny shards and specks of plastics in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. This approach is more effective in hard water than soft.
The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that boiling soft water removed only around 25 percent of microplastics, while boiling hard water removed as much as 90 percent. As reported in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters, boiling and filtering calcium-containing tap water could help remove nearly 90% of the nano- and microplastics present.
Beer is made from water and crops such as wheat, which both contain microplastics due to plastic pollution. There are about 28 microplastic particles per liter of beer which outpaces other drinks such as soda, iced tea, and energy drinks. Apples and carrots were the most contaminated fruit and vegetable, respectively, with over 100,000 microplastics per gram.
The smallest particles were found in carrots, while the largest pieces of plastic were found in lettuce, which was also the least contaminated vegetable. How can microplastics be removed from the body? Larger plastic pieces can leave your body through the natural process of elimination; however, smaller particles can actually be absorbed into your body and are toxic.
Microplastics can act as a medium for environmental toxic substances such as bisphenol A, which are absorbed into the body and cause various diseases of the endocrine system and reproductive system. In a recent study, microplastics were also found in the placentas of six pregnant women by Raman microspectroscopy. What most people don’t know, is that microplastics exist in tiny forms within items we use daily – such as our toothpaste.
It’s important to educate ourselves on how microplastics harm our environment and our health. The researchers found that, on average, a liter of bottled water included about 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic. About 90% of these plastic fragments were nanoplastics. This total was 10 to 100 times more plastic particles than seen in earlier studies, which mostly focused on larger microplastics.
The most common microplastics in the environment are microfibers – plastic fragments shaped like tiny threads or filaments. Microfibers come from many sources, including cigarette butts, fishing nets and ropes, but the biggest source is synthetic fabrics, which constantly shed them. Sun, heat, wind, and waves can cause these plastics to become brittle and break into smaller and smaller pieces that may never fully go away.
In summary, the discovery that boiling tap water, especially when rich in calcium, can significantly reduce or remove the presence of nano- and microplastics (NMPs) presents a remarkably simple yet effective solution to a growing environmental and health concern. Our Microplastics Recovery Program works to reduce this waste from beaches and rivers.
With the help of volunteers and beach cleaning machines and techonology, we can not only recover microplastics but collect data that may affect systemic change and stem microplastic pollution at its sources. “The larger particulate matter lodges into the lungs, but anything 2.5 micrometers or smaller can get into the blood via the lungs.” Once in the blood, the plastic particles can circulate in the body and accumulate in tissues.
Research showed that plastic particles might persist in the lungs, especially in people with lung disease. When particles would remain in the lungs, they likely stay there for a long time because they are bio-persistent, which could cause inflammation. A new study suggests boiling hard tap water for two to five minutes and then filtering it can remove nearly 80% of nanoplastics and microplastics present.
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