Then make the issues relevant.
Just point me to those studies, if they exist.
Hereās one:
Source: āMoleculesā
Date: February 1, 2022
Article Name: Microplastics (Polystyrene) Exposure Induces Metabolic
Changes in the Liver of Rare Minnow (Gobiocypris rarus)
Authors: Chunling Wang
Miaomiao Hou
Kunyu Shang
Huanshan Wang
Jianwei Wang
Phil, I spent a little time looking for studies and governmental reports relating to the Great Lakes, since this is an important issue here.
Here are a few things that looked reasonably reliable:
Watershed in Ontario, Canada
Wardlaw, C; Prosser, R S.
Water, Air and Soil Pollution; Dordrecht Vol. 231, Iss. 8, (Aug 2020). DOI:10.1007/s11270-020-04741-5
Occurrence, sources, human health impacts and mitigation of microplastic pollution
Karbalaei, Samaneh; Hanachi, Parichehr; Walker, Tony R; Cole, Matthew.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research International; Heidelberg Vol. 25, Iss. 36, (Dec 2018): 36046-36063. DOI:10.1007
This is actually presentation slides, but the author has references to authors of studies, but no formal bib. I did locate one group of authors associated with an article buthad no subscription access.
Microplastics and Marine Debris: Emerging Environmental Contaminants
Sarah Zack
Pollution Prevention Extension Specialist
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant & University of Illinois Extension
Michigan Sustainability Conference | September 18, 2018
Most of the studies point out that more research is needed. Something I agree with.
Plastic saved the planet.
What an absurd non sequitur. The planet aināt saved, no way, no how.
What an absurd non sequitur.
Absurdity is all the rage around here.
More in some corners than others, however.
Interesting, though the slides mostly show problems with big plastic chunks. It is interesting how little is actually known. Interestingly, I came across one article stating that microplastics are additives in toothpaste (from India, so not sure if they are added to ours here.
It is interesting how little is actually known.
Because itās only started to be an area of research. But that is changing. Asbestos was once thought to be safe. And second-hand cigarette smoke. And so forth. Were you able to read the article I showed you?
Yer, interesting, but mostly speculation like the other articles.
microplastics are additives in toothpaste (from India, so not sure if they are added to ours here.
Microbeads were ā
What Are Microbeads In Toothpaste? | ColgateĀ®
Learn more about microbeads in toothpaste and how the recent ban is good news for your health and the environment. Also learn about alternatives.
ā¦and maybe something still is?
ā¦but not all microplastic ingredients are microbeads.
Myth Buster: Toothpaste still contains microplastics! - Beat the Microbead
To date, we have registered 589 dental care products. Out of those 349 contained either microplastics or sceptical microplastics & in some cases both.
Est. reading time: 4 minutes
There was a lot more. I didnāt have time to dig more, though, and lots were behind paywalls I donāt have keys for. Folks in Michigan can at least to get to abstracts of stuff in Elsevier datases theough Academic Search Complete in the eResources section of www.mel.org.
I would also check for EPA workat the federal level. I expect there is a good deal of government research going on, because there are real policy implications to this matter.
There was a lot more.
There is a lot on academic search premier
One problem with small pieces of plastics is that plastic seems to suck up toxic incredients from the surrounding water. Bacteria may attach on the surface of plastic. I do not know if nanoplastic has the same problems but it is a possibility.
With microplastic, there is a possibility to get harmful effects both from the chemicals in the plastic and the toxic chemicals or bacteria that attach to the plastic. With the smallest microplastic or nanoplastic, there is also a possibility of physical damage at the cellular level as the smallest particles can penetrate our body. These are possibilities, what is reality is something that is poorly known. It is likely that negative effects are caused by a combination of two or more chemicals, which means that studying a particular chemical or plastic does not reveal the cumulative effects.
Many ābiodegradableā plastics break into small pieces, micro- and nanoplastic. To be truly biodegradable, the stuff should break directly into chemicals, not to small pieces. One problem is that ābiodegradableā plastic is designed to degrade at a fairly high temperature and suitable humidity. In cold or dry environments, the ābiodegradableā plastic may last decades or possibly even centuries.
There has been much speculation about what has caused the sperm counts of men drop drastically in western-type societies. It is possible that chemicals in plastics play a role. When I was a kid living in the countryside, we used less plastic, did not have goretex-type cloths or shoes, and the material life was also otherwise āoldfashionedā. In my generation, the sperm counts were high, higher than in most countries of Europe.
Then came the āmodern styleā society where everything was put into plastic containers or wrapped in plastic, goretex-type cloths and shoes replaced the old-fashioned rubber boots and raincoats, etc. The sperm counts of the next generations dropped much, to the level that was ordinary in countries that had gone through the same change earlier.
Was this caused by chemicals in plastics, or something else? I do not know but plastics may be involved.
Many ābiodegradableā plastics break into small pieces, micro- and nanoplastic. To be truly biodegradable, the stuff should break directly into chemicals, not to small pieces.
Yes, they should break down completely into chemicals, not pieces of plastic. Which ones donāt do this? Itās better to avoid or reduce using plastic altogether as best as we can. Iām starting to buy silicone bags for food. I donāt use bottled water. etc.
Hi Beaglelady,
You mentioned this
silicone bags for food.
I have been reticent to follow this trend, because silicone items often leave a residue on my hands. And I have not done any research yet what that could be or even on silicone safety in general.
Have you done any? What have you learned?
We use a lot more glass containers now at home, particularly for the fridge, and for the adult lunches going to work. Youngest kid is still carrying her lunch on the school bus, so her dishes are plastic, unless she needs a metal thermos for hot food. (Glass shards pose a different kind of safety threat in a lunch bag.)
glass containers
We would use more of those, if they could be recycled where we live. As-is, we primarily use long-term reusable plastic containers.
I have been reticent to follow this trend, because silicone items often leave a residue on my hands. And I have not done any research yet what that could be or even on silicone safety in general.
Have you done any? What have you learned?
I havenāt come across any safety issues but will look into it.
We would use more of those, if they could be recycled where we live.
Some glass jars, e.g. peanut butter jars, make good food storage containers.
I save bread wrappers. They can be used for a lot of things. And Iām well on the way to getting my food waste down to zero. When food scraps end up in a landfill they give off methane, a potent greenhouse gas. At our dump people can bring leaves, yard clippings and kitchen scraps like peels and egg shells. The town composts these and then gives away the compost!