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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

#41

Post by DougN7 »

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 think his point is just because we got along without it is not a good reason to abandon something. But yeah, too much waste all around, including plastics

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#42

Post by pcmaffey »

devoply wrote: post #34
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.

Except, there's a special circle of hell for people that knowingly break glass bottles out "in the wild", and I wouldn't want to fill their hands with greater temptation, lest their ignorant souls be damned for eternity.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#43

Post by idDriven »

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…

> The article says a "microplastic particle" is any peice of plastic smaller than 5mm

I double checked the article and you are right, this is why the use of the apothocary symbols are not used in medicine any more it should be "5 and 20 μm polystyrene micro-particles elicited somewhat similar pathological and physiological changes in mice. These, particularly the 5 μm micro-particles, could be detected in histological sections of the gut, liver and kidney." The symbol means micro or an order of a million times smaller than a gram/meter so the particulate size appears misstated and is actually an order of 1000 times smaller than a millimeter.

> This could easily be genuine epidemic levels of awful, or it could be completely nothing. Does anyone know more?

It has been shown microplastic contamination is very significant in plastic-bottled single-use drinking water. Avoiding exposure as much as possible is 100% best medical advice, avoid drinking from single-use plastic bottles whenever possible. An infographic from WHO: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/03/16/study-...

As for health effects microplastics definitely bioaccumulate in the gut, liver and kidneys in mice. Mice are not human but as this is a basic physiology issue it is very highly likely that they also bioaccumulate in humans. It is not clear whether humans or mice can ever clear these particles, it is likely they can damage these organs over time, they do cause biomarker and endocrine changes short term. This can indicate damage, possible scaring and a propensity to weight gain respectively. Also other unknown fun stuff. It is probably dose-dependent so if you avoid single use plastic bottled water thats key. The food supply issue (seafood) is less significant from a human health standpoint.

Second source:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.0006...

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#44

Post by hammock »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #39
userbinator wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 com…

BPA is not used to make plastics more flexible. It is commonly used in all sorts of places though.

Phthalates are commonly used to make plastics more flexible. They are also estrogenic.

Parabens, PCBs, and pesticides are all other common entrants into the body with estrogenic effects.

( Reduced sperm count and sperm quality)

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#45

Post by idDriven »

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

I couldn't access the article because paywall, however 'a)... synthetic textiles' would make more sense for inhalation vs ingestion. Also American Chemical Society may be biased, despite the lovable name https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Chemical_Soci...

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#46

Post by layoutIfNeeded »

devoply wrote: post #34
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.

Aluminium cans have a thin plastic layer inside.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#47

Post by layoutIfNeeded »

darkpuma wrote: post #17
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.

Lots of things come in glass already and it doesn't really seem to be a big deal. Spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc. Nobody thinks twice about any of that.

This. For some reason it’s only the water and softdrink manufacturers who have this hardon for plastic containers. Everyone else is happily putting all sorts of condiments and liquids in glassware.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#48

Post by mrob »

idDriven wrote: post #43
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…

> The article says a "microplastic particle" is any peice of plastic smaller than 5mm I double checked the article and you are right, this is why the use of the apothocary symbols are not used in medicine any more it should be "5 and 20 μm polystyrene micro-particles elicited somewhat similar pathological and physiological changes in mice. These, particularly the 5 μm micro-particles, could be detected in histologica…

Microplastics were found in bottled water, but I see no evidence that they actually came from the bottles, and I can't think of any mechanism that could cause particles to break off from the insides of the bottle under normal storage conditions. It seems more likely that they were already present in the water when the bottles were filled.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#49

Post by userbinator »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #39
userbinator wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 com…

Scientists have done thousands of studies and haven't identified a root cause.

Then there likely isn't one, beyond maybe natural evolution itself.

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.

That was actually a very noticeable effect that plenty of studies showed evidence of, unlike this one.

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

We'd still be living like cavemen if that were the case.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#50

Post by mrob »

alexandercrohde wrote: post #39
userbinator wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 com…

Most likely candidate for increase in nearsightedness is decreased exposure to sunlight:

https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120

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