Live data from Hacker News

Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

smithsonianmag.com

51–60 of 90 posts

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#51
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

Pickles come in glass jars. so does salsa. So does some types of juice.

I'm not sure why you are concerned about this because it is obviously not a big problem.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#52
post #34

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.

Glass is heavy as shit and makes transportation require more energy.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#53
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Glass is heavy as shit and makes transportation require more energy.

Yet glass bottles are used everywhere from beer, wine, jellies, jams, etc. etc. Transportation cost is not much of a real issue.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#54
post #16
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.

You can get water in aluminum cans. Pretty common when flying on a plane for example.

Aluminium cans are coated on the inside with plastic.

Edit: here is a video showing what the lining looks like.

https://youtu.be/EagzNomxTYg

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#55
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

It's likely a result of the manufacturing process, at least partially. I found the journal article the WHO pulled data from. Heres the abstract (I italicized for emphasis):

Eleven globally sourced brands of bottled water, purchased in 19 locations in nine different countries, were tested for microplastic contamination using Nile Red tagging. Of the 259 total bottles processed, 93% showed some sign of microplastic contamination. After accounting for possible background (lab) contamination, an average of 10.4 microplastic particles >100 um in size per liter of bottled water processed were found. Fragments were the most common morphology (66%) followed by fibers. Half of these particles were confirmed to be polymeric in nature using FTIR spectroscopy with polypropylene being the most common polymer type (54%), which matches a common plastic used for the manufacture of bottle caps. A small fraction of particles (4%) showed the presence of industrial lubricants. While spectroscopic analysis of particles smaller than 100 um was not possible, the adsorption of the Nile Red dye indicates that these particles are most probably plastic. Including these smaller particles (6.5–100 um), an average of 325 microplastic particles per liter of bottled water was found. Microplastic contamination range of 0 to over 10,000 microplastic particles per liter with 95% of particles being between 6.5 and 100 um in size. Data suggests the contamination is at least partially coming from the packaging and/or the bottling process itself. Given the prevalence of the consumption of bottled water across the globe, the results of this study support the need for further studies on the impacts of micro- and nano- plastics on human health.

URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#56
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

Do you have sources?

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#57

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 biohaza…

Plastics are not so abundant in the oceans or soils to support some kind of biological takeover, assuming such microbes could evolve. This is sensationalist speculation. https://vinylverified.com/blog/2019/5/17/vinyl-verified-resp...

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Pickles come in glass jars. so does salsa. So does some types of juice. I'm not sure why you are concerned about this because it is obviously not a big problem.

It is a problem, especially in transportation and distribution of products. It costs more for glass. It's heavier, there's more loss from breakage, etc. There's a reason society went from using glass for every container to plastic. Plastics are convenient, resilient to drops, lightweight, flexible, and easier to form in various shapes.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#59
post #19
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.

>Glass is heavy and expensive plus the added liability of it breaking and a consumer reaching their hand inside. Plastic edges can cut you to the bone pretty easily. Clamshell package victims attest to this year after year. Can't I just go choke on a plastic bottle somewhere and swing the legal preference back the other way, if that's truly the issue? I agree with you on the weight aspect though. It'd be difficult to…

Imagine glass clamshell packaging, if you think plastic cuts are bad. It's also not about reducing profits or not. Consumer goods operate on very thin margins. Anything you do to increase packaging and distribution costs will be passed on in the price of the goods.

Re: Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

#60
post #37

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.

From a sanitary perspective, yes.

Plastic bags are naturally waterproof, have a high strength-to-weight ratio, and don't easily let bacteria grow. If made sturdy enough, like they used to be, they can even be easily cleaned and reused, because dirt does not soak into them.

Edit: it's amusing how voracious the anti-plastic brigade is here...

Post reply on HN