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Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#31

Post by xenocyon »

RandomInteger4 wrote: post #21
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #12

For everyone talking about the benefits of glass bottles, they have their own dangers. This study from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia showed that broken glass bottles accounted for 15% of all lacerations in children (the largest single cause) and broken glass bottles most frequently inflicted injuries resulting in functional impairment or hospitalization https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-ab…

Not to mention that glass also has harmful chemicals that leach into the contents of the glass containers. Same goes for metal.

That's very hard to believe; glass is pretty inert.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#32

Post by remarkEon »

mevile wrote: post #7
staunch wrote: post #3

I'd be happy to buy virtually all my packaged food in recyclable glass containers. I buy milk in bottles and return them for a refund and it's easy enough. Amazon could make this move happen pretty quickly with amazon.com and Whole Foods. I'm sure there would be difficulties involved but they don't seem insurmountable.

The article points out that you're also getting the microplastics from the food you're eating and from just drinking tap water. Microplastics from your own packaging isn't included in the 120k total.

Which means the problem is likely worse.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#33

Post by userbinator »

jdietrich wrote: post #22
dahfizz wrote: post #13

Do we know much about the impact this has on our bodies? This is certainly something to be concerned about, but without that context it's hard to know what this really means. The article says a "microplastic particle" is any peice of plastic smaller than 5mm. That's bigger than some pills - I would definitely notice chewing on something that size. So how big are these really and what are they doing to me? For referen…

>So how big are these really and what are they doing to me? According to the paper, a) they're mostly microscopic pieces of lint from synthetic textiles and b) we don't know. Given the amount of research that has looked for health harms related to plastics exposure, I operate on the assumption that if it was a big deal, we would have found something by now. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517

and b) we don't know

If the claims of consumption are true, then people have been ingesting plastics for a long time and there have been no observed ill effects attributable to it, and I'd say it's more like "we have plenty of evidence that it's not really harmful" than "we don't know" --- but of course, the latter makes for more sensational reporting and fearmongering...

This somewhat reminds me of the paranoia surrounding radio waves and non-ionising radiation --- surely there would be some obviously noticeable negative effects by now, after well over a century of use, but the evidence strongly says that beyond known effects like heating, there's nothing else to worry about.

It's like those articles that claim (and likely are true) that people ingest X insects/spiders/other-disgusting-thing every year; it's sensational, but not really something to worry about (personally, I'd rather ingest the plastic...)

I've noticed there's a bit of an anti-plastic movement going on lately, with plenty of FUD articles like this being spread (not just on HN, but elsewhere), and I wonder if there's an ulterior motive...

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#34

Post by devoply »

remarkEon wrote: post #30

Somewhat unrelated, but I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant on plastics. I try to shop at local farmers markets (I'm willing to pay a small premium for knowing exactly where my food is coming from), and even in those cases the guy behind the table reflexively reaches for a plastic bag nearly every time. I always bring my own canvas bags or a backpack, but this has become so culturally ingrained in…

> I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant on plastics.

Aluminum and glass. We have ways, we only need the political will to mandate their uses and discontinue plastics over a short period of say 10-20 years.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#35

Post by userbinator »

remarkEon wrote: post #30

Somewhat unrelated, but I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant on plastics. I try to shop at local farmers markets (I'm willing to pay a small premium for knowing exactly where my food is coming from), and even in those cases the guy behind the table reflexively reaches for a plastic bag nearly every time. I always bring my own canvas bags or a backpack, but this has become so culturally ingrained in…

We survived without them for a long time.

We also survived for a very long time without refrigerated food, running water, sewer systems, electricity, computers, or sterile medical procedures.

Personally, I feel sad about the plastic waste too, but more because it's a waste of a perfectly good material with some very desirable properties. Definitely against a ban, but definitely for more reuse and recycling.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#36

Post by userbinator »

maxxxxx wrote: post #11
vuln wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>shipping glass ... “difficulties” Yeah I’m sure they’d lose a ton of money. Glass is heavy and expensive plus the added liability of it breaking and a consumer reaching their hand inside.

"plus the added liability of it breaking and a consumer reaching their hand inside." Do people just make this stuff as up as a concern? There are plenty of areas where this is done without problems.

Drop a glass container and it's almost certainly going to shatter, contaminating whatever product it was carrying with dangerously tiny shards of glass.

Drop a plastic container and it's going to dent or rupture at most, and the product it contains will likely still be recoverable.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#37

Post by rewgs »

userbinator wrote: post #35
remarkEon wrote: post #30

Somewhat unrelated, but I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant on plastics. I try to shop at local farmers markets (I'm willing to pay a small premium for knowing exactly where my food is coming from), and even in those cases the guy behind the table reflexively reaches for a plastic bag nearly every time. I always bring my own canvas bags or a backpack, but this has become so culturally ingrained in…

We survived without them for a long time. We also survived for a very long time without refrigerated food, running water, sewer systems, electricity, computers, or sterile medical procedures. Personally, I feel sad about the plastic waste too, but more because it's a waste of a perfectly good material with some very desirable properties. Definitely against a ban, but definitely for more reuse and recycling.

Right, because using a canvas bag instead of a plastic one is just like going without running water.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#38

Post by frankbreetz »

rewgs wrote: post #37
userbinator wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We survived without them for a long time. We also survived for a very long time without refrigerated food, running water, sewer systems, electricity, computers, or sterile medical procedures. Personally, I feel sad about the plastic waste too, but more because it's a waste of a perfectly good material with some very desirable properties. Definitely against a ban, but definitely for more reuse and recycling.

Right, because using a canvas bag instead of a plastic one is just like going without running water.

I agree completely, we could easily get rid of 95% of all plastics and barely cause anyone any inconvenience.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#39

Post by alexandercrohde »

userbinator wrote: post #33
jdietrich wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>So how big are these really and what are they doing to me? According to the paper, a) they're mostly microscopic pieces of lint from synthetic textiles and b) we don't know. Given the amount of research that has looked for health harms related to plastics exposure, I operate on the assumption that if it was a big deal, we would have found something by now. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517

and b) we don't know If the claims of consumption are true, then people have been ingesting plastics for a long time and there have been no observed ill effects attributable to it, and I'd say it's more like "we have plenty of evidence that it's not really harmful" than "we don't know" --- but of course, the latter makes for more sensational reporting and fearmongering... This somewhat reminds me of the paranoia surr…

I just have to downvote this mentality....

For example men's spermcounts have been going down steadily and predictably for over 30 years, and are now HALF what they were 30 years ago. Scientists have done thousands of studies and haven't identified a root cause. (I bring this up because many plastics are made flexible with a xenoestrogen named BPA)

We can't say "Plastics must be fine," we have no control group to compare against. For all you know the increases in allergies, nearsightedness, autoimmune disorders, or reduced sperm count are related.

---

Remember when leaded gasoline reduced a whole generation's IQ by a few points and caused a crimewave? Sometimes the negative effects of an enviromental choice take decades to figure out.

It's past time to switch into a "cautious until proven safe" way of thinking when it comes to health and environment.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#40

Post by strainer »

Sooner or later it is likely that microbes which can digest plastics but are currently extremely rare, will multiply, become common and evolve since we are making plastic pollution increasingly common throughout soils and seas.

What will be the timescale and effect of a new category of microbes on earthly micro-flora? In soils, in foodchains and within our own guts ? This uncertainty presents an unpredictable biohazard. An intelligent population having noticed its accidental emissions would try to limit and reduce them in scale for its own and future generations biological security.

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